turn upside down

Idioms and Phrases

Put in disorder, mix or mess up, as in He turned the whole house upside down looking for his checkbook . This metaphoric phrase transfers literally inverting something so that the upper part becomes the lower (or vice versa) to throwing into disorder or confusion. [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

In the years since the attack at the Capitol, Mr. Trump and both mainstream and fringe elements of the conservative media have pushed a steady drumbeat of those lies, an effort to turn upside down the narrative of Jan. 6 and undercut the legitimacy of the Biden administration.

From New York Times

“In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason,” the business posted online, saying “great people in this community” were lost.

From Washington Times

"In a split second your world gets turn upside down for no good reason," Schemengees posted on its Facebook page.

From Reuters

Strong winds had lashed the boat, sparking panic among many passengers, who moved to one side of the wooden boat and caused it to turn upside down after its bamboo outriggers broke, the coast guard and police said.

From Seattle Times

“Water would go into Ricou’s eyeholes, so the only way he could see me was to turn upside down. During the whole sequence, he was supposed to be swimming underneath me and I wasn’t supposed to know he was there. Every now and then I’d feel this scaly hand come up and skim my leg or my bottom and I’d say, ‘Oh, Ricou must be there.’”

From Washington Post

Related Words

• check
• comb
• examine
• explore
• go through
• hunt
• hunt for
• inspect
• investigate
• look
• probe
• ransack
• scan
• scour
• scout
• scrutinize
• seek
• sift