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

Almost every man aboard was thrown to the deck, and the vessel heeled over to starboard until it seemed she must turn turtle.

From The Boy With the U. S. Fisheries by Rolt-Wheeler, Francis

His boat would "turn turtle" or be cut in two by the craft behind.

From El Diablo by Groesbeck, Dan Sayre

The San Martin, losing steerage way, was rolling horribly in the trough of the sea; any instant she might turn turtle.

From The Nameless Island A Story of some Modern Robinson Crusoes by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

For one giddy moment Mr. A. Bubble appeared to be uncertain whether to turn turtle or go on the way he was headed.

From The Automobile Girls at Chicago or, Winning Out Against Heavy Odds by Crane, Laura Dent

Our machinery might break down, we might drift for weeks without being sighted, we might collide with an iceberg in the fog, we might even turn turtle.

From By Right of Conquest A Novel by Hornblow, Arthur