turn turtle

Idioms  

1. Capsize, turn upside down, as in When they collided, the car turned turtle. This expression alludes to the helplessness of a turtle turned on its back, where its shell can no longer protect it. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

turn turtle

Her tail rose, and she started, with dreadful deliberateness, to turn turtle.

From The Trail of the Hawk A Comedy of the Seriousness of Life by Sinclair Lewis

He felt the sampan turn turtle under him, and in another second he was shot into the dark, fierce current, and felt the waters close over his head.

From Jack Haydon's Quest by John Jellicoe

More than once, as the wind changed a point, it seemed that the cranky craft must turn turtle.

From In Clive's Command A Story of the Fight for India by Herbert Strang

The schooner heeled until the lad was sure that she was going to turn turtle.

From The Battleship Boys' First Step Upward or, Winning Their Grades as Petty Officers by Frank Gee Patchin

The car, jerked back like a mad horse caught by a lariat, reared up on its hind wheels, threatened to turn turtle, then crashed over on its side with its engine still racing wildly.

From Curlie Carson Listens In by Roy J. (Roy Judson) Snell