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

Q. But do not the iron-clads comprising this fleet frequently turn turtle?

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105, September 9, 1893 by Various

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 Snell, Roy J. (Roy Judson)

She careened so badly that the girls shrieked and Malcolm himself thought she would turn turtle.

From The Red Year A Story of the Indian Mutiny by Tracy, Louis

He had either to crash squarely into the other automobile or he had to run the risk of having his own machine turn turtle.

From Bert Wilson at the Wheel by Duffield, J. W.

But the sorcerer answered: “Did not my ship turn turtle at sea, and yet you try to deceive me?”

From The Chinese Fairy Book by Wilhelm, Richard