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Definition of Turn turtle
1. Verb. Overturn accidentally. "Don't rock the boat or it will capsize!"
Definition of Turn turtle
1. Verb. To turn upside down. Commonly used for boats and ships that capsize and turn through 180° so their hulls are above their superstructure, but it can refer to any vehicle in a similar position. ¹
2. Verb. (surfing) To roll upside-down with one's surfboard (usually a longboard) to allow a wave (usually an already broken wave) to pass over. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Turn Turtle
Literary usage of Turn turtle
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A new pronouncing dictionary of the Spanish and English languages by Mariano Velázquez de la Cadena, Edward Gray, Juan L. Iribas (1902)
"To turn turtle. Zozobrar, volverse hacia arriba el casco de una embarcación.
Tuscan [tui'-can], a. Toscano, do Tos- cana.—«. 1. ..."
2. A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant: Embracing English, American, and Anglo by Albert Barrère, Charles Godfrey Leland (1890)
"turn turtle, to (nautical), to capsize. Turn-up (common), a prize-fight. Also a
street fight. I'd describe now to you as ..."
3. The Treasury of Natural History, Or, A Popular Dictionary of Animated Nature by Samuel Maunder (1852)
""No ships' crewe are now allowed to turn Turtle, which is converted into a povem-
I ment monopoly ; and two pounds ten ehil- I lings it the fixed price for ..."
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