turned turtle
Upside down boat
Turned turtle describes something that has flipped completely upside down, like a turtle helplessly stuck on its back.
The phrase applies most often to boats and vehicles that have capsized or overturned.
The canoe turned turtle in the rapids and dumped us all in the water.
It can also describe any situation that has gone completely wrong or reversed itself unexpectedly.
- capsizedFlipped upside down, nautically
- flippedReversed position suddenly
- overturnedTurned upside down
- upside downReversed in vertical orientation
- rolled overRotated to another side
inverted · bottom up · keel over · shipwreck · helpless · powerless · stranded · high and dry · dead in the water · toppled · defeated · upended · vulnerable · stuck · destabilized · belly up · tipping · reversed
turned turtleright-side-up
Proper vertical orientation
upright · on an even keel · level · steady · right side up
turn, turned, turning, turns, turner, turnable, overturn, return, turtle