turn turtle

Verb

turn turtle (third-person singular simple present turns turtle, present participle turning turtle, simple past and past participle turned turtle)

1. (historical, intransitive) To capture a turtle by turning it onto its back.
   • Before Noon, the next Day, I sent off the Master, Mr. Aikin, and a Party to the Island, victualled for a week, to turn Turtle. The Evening brought us light breezes with fine pleasant Weather; and the Cutter came back with a couple of Turtle, which we served out as before.1805, James Stanier Clarke, “Pacific Ocean”, in Naufragia or Historical Memoirs of Shipwrecks and of the Providential Deliverance of Vessels, London: Printed by I. Gold, […], for J. Mawman, […]...
   • No ships' crews are now allowed to turn turtle, which is converted into a government monopoly; and two pounds ten shillings is the fixed price for each.1837, James Edward Alexander, chapter XII, in Narrative of a Voyage of Observation among the Colonies of West Africa, in the Flag-ship Thalia; and of a Campaign in Kaffir-land, on the Staff of the...
2. (intransitive) Especially of a boat or ship, or some other vehicle: to turn upside down.
   • Gymnastics of every description, even the Kroo canoe afforded its mite towards the general hilarity, by turning turtle with the awkward aspirants for paddling fame.1847, “A Leaf or Two from an Old Log”, in Colburn’s United Service Magazine and Naval and Military Journal, part II, London: H. Hurst, […], →OCLC, page 191
   • This brig is American—the schooner alongside is a Spaniard, that turned turtle in a tornado, about six-and-thirty hours since, and on which we have been hard at work trying to raise her, since the gale which succeeded the tornado has blown its pipe out.1848, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter VI, in Jack Tier; or The Florida Reef. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Burgess, Stringer & Co., →OCLC, page 157

   Synonyms:

   turtle

3. (figuratively, intransitive) To fail; to go belly up.
   • On a day-to-day basis, his [Bill Hartack's] business turned turtle; some years he wouldn't even win a hundred races. But at Derby time, he was still the jockey of choice, in demand for many of the major trainers.2016, Bill Christine, “Put the Schadenfreude on Hold”, in Bill Hartack: The Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 110
4. (dated, idiomatic) To become upset.
5. (intransitive) To roll upside down with one's surfboard (usually a longboard) to allow a wave, especially a wave that has already broken, to pass over.
   • As you encounter waves on the way out, you have five ways of getting past them: […] Turn turtle. Turn upside down and hang onto the rails (i.e., the edges) near the nose of the board, pulling it downward, so that the oncoming wave pushes on this slanted shield, forcing you and the forward part of...2009, Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, with Scott Bannerot, “Getting Started: A Complete Mini-primer”, in Wingnut’s Complete Surfing, Camden, Me.; New York, N.Y.: International Marine; McGraw-Hill, →ISBN...