Idiom
turn in one's grave
Meaning
To be appalled, offended or disgusted by something, despite being deceased.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“If he saw this mess, your grandfather would turn in his grave.”
“The old musician would turn in his grave if he heard his song used in that cheap advert.”
“The poet, long dead but fiercely protective of his legacy in life, would surely turn in his grave to see his verses mangled for a political slogan he would have despised.”
Examples
simple
“If he saw this mess, your grandfather would turn in his grave.”
contextual
“The old musician would turn in his grave if he heard his song used in that cheap advert.”
complex
“The poet, long dead but fiercely protective of his legacy in life, would surely turn in his grave to see his verses mangled for a political slogan he would have despised.”
Origin
Documented in English since 1801, perhaps from Jewish rabbinic tradition that the bones of Judah rolled about in his coffin for his shame during the Exodus.
Key words
Related idioms
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