turn upside down
Put in disorder, mix or mess up, as in He turned the whole house upside down looking for his checkbook. This metaphoric phrase transfers literally inverting something so that the upper part becomes the lower (or vice versa) to throwing into disorder or confusion. [First half of 1800s]
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CAN YOU GUESS THESE WORDS FROM AROUND THE US?
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Question 1 of 10
A bet is synonymous with a wager, but what does it mean in New York?
Words nearby turn upside down
turn turtle, turnup, turn up like a bad penny, turn up one's nose, turn up one's toes, turn upside down, turn up the heat on, turn up trumps, turnverein, turophile, turophobia
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.