# Outside of English, does your language have an equivalent to “rolling in \[one’s\] grave”? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437 "2025-09-27T19:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/1 "2025-09-27T19:07:53Z")
Here in English, we have a delightful turn of phrase. If the memory, legacy, example, values, etc. of a dead person are offended, then we say “[offended dead person] is rolling in their grave.” For example, tell your devoutly Catholic grandmother that you won’t be baptizing your baby or raising them Catholic, she’ll respond in exasperation, “your beloved grandfather Michael Patrick is rolling in his grave!” Or you take your kids to see an animated Disney movie and it’s terrible, and you say “Walt Disney is rolling in his grave.” Does your language have an equivalent? ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/2 "2025-09-27T19:23:14Z")
In danish there’s “vende sig i sin grav”, basically the same expression. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/3 "2025-09-27T19:27:49Z")
I believe the original English expression was “turning [or turning over] in one’s grave” - as in “tossing and turning.” (Sometimes you’ll see it rendered as “spinning in one’s grave,” but that’s just silly - the image is supposed to be “flopping back and forth trying to fall asleep,” not “rotating around a longitudinal axis as if being roasted on a spit.”) ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/4 "2025-09-27T19:38:52Z")
Expressions like this often get exaggerated over time. An original expression was ‘everything but the kitchen sink’. It wasn’t long before the sink was included. By the same token, tossing and turning is rather extreme sleeplessness. If we take that a step further it becomes spinning. The original expression was a simple rolling over. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/5 "2025-09-27T20:00:21Z")
Yes, we have the direct equivalent in [Afrikaans](https://gesellig.co.za/t/37716-omdraai/): _Sy sal in haar graf omdraai_ - she’ll turn in her grave. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/6 "2025-09-27T20:18:30Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > I believe the original English expression was “turning [or turning over] in one’s grave” - as in “tossing and turning.” That’s still the Hebrew phrase: _mit’hapech b’kivro_ (מתהפך בקברו). ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/7 "2025-09-27T20:42:43Z")
I think there is a connection with another common expression about the dead : “may he rest in peace”. Rolling over, tossing and turning in the grave,etc …are the opposite of RIP. The two expressions complement each other and use the same imagery I wonder if most languages use both. But in Hebrew, only one is used: “to roll over in his grave” is a common phrase. But Hebrew has no expression for “rest in peace”. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/8 "2025-09-27T20:46:31Z")
“Se revuelve en la tumba” in Spanish, basically “Rolling in his grave”. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/9 "2025-09-27T22:30:34Z")
Just to confirm, in British English the expression that I know is “Turning in his/her grave.” j ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/10 "2025-09-27T23:19:12Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But Hebrew has no expression for “rest in peace”. נוח בשלום על משכבך - _Nuch b’shalom al mishkavcha_ - “rest in peace in your resting place”. It’s from Isaiah 57:2; Hebrew uses the whole phrase, while in English you just say the first three words. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/11 "2025-09-28T00:54:55Z")
The abbreviation “R.I.P.” was originally an abbreviation for the Latin phrase _requiescat in pace_, meaning “may he/she rest in peace”. It’s coincidental that it is also an abbreviation for the English phrase “rest in peace”. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/12 "2025-09-28T07:09:34Z")
There are a couple of expressions in Japanese, but they talk about the deceased crying or lamenting in the grave, rather than turning over or rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/13 "2025-09-28T08:25:23Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > “Se revuelve en la tumba” in Spanish, basically “Rolling in his grave”. The French expression is very close, _se retourner dans sa tombe_, with the idea that the deceased turns 180° and is now lying face down. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/14 "2025-09-28T09:36:01Z")
Same in German: _Sich im Grab(e) umdrehen_ (the (e) makes it sound a bit old fashioned) means turning over in the grave. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/15 "2025-09-28T09:49:50Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Just to confirm, in British English the expression that I know is “Turning in his/her grave.” Yes, I’ve only heard ‘turning’ rather than ‘rolling’ (I’m a 72 year old Englishman…) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/16 "2025-09-28T10:35:10Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Same in German: _Sich im Grab(e) umdrehen_ (the (e) makes it sound a bit old fashioned) means turning over in the grave. And there’s the younger, exaggerated expression “im Grab rotieren”, literally spinning/rotating in the grave. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/17 "2025-09-28T14:32:52Z")
As in the original Dutch: “Zich omdraaien in z’n graf” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/18 "2025-09-28T20:56:19Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > There are a couple of expressions in Japanese, but they talk about the deceased crying or lamenting in the grave, rather than turning over or rolling. I suppose the spatial orientation of your remains is less pertinent when you’re cremated. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/19 "2025-09-28T21:20:12Z")
And in Czech it is “ obracet se v hrobě“. It seems to be a pretty international saying. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2025, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/outside-of-english-does-your-language-have-an-equivalent-to-rolling-in-one-s-grave/1023437/20 "2025-10-01T05:52:56Z")
Such expressions often get exaggerated for humorous effect. In the transfer of power on January 6, 2021, el donald had George Washington going at tens of thousands of RPM.