turn turtle

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

Of course I may be struck by lightning tomorrow, or the car may turn turtle when we go down to be married, but I refuse to contemplate anything of the sort.

From Black Oxen by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn

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

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

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 Strang, Herbert