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.

Then I got alarmed, thinking the machine might turn turtle on me, so I shut off the engine, intending to glide to earth.

From The Rover Boys in the Air From College Campus to the Clouds by Stratemeyer, Edward

With such a wind sucking under them might have made the boat turn turtle, Mrs. Calvert, don’t you know?

From Dorothy on a House Boat by Raymond, Evelyn

The warning came none too soon, for a gust of wind hit the biplane and all but made it "turn turtle," as the saying goes.

From The Rover Boys in the Air From College Campus to the Clouds by Stratemeyer, Edward

At any moment the West Barbican might turn turtle.

From The Wireless Officer by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy 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