[1] This hyperbolic figure of speech is used to describe the upset, disgust, horror or anger of a deceased person if they were alive to hear of a certain news story, action or idea—especially a negative one.
As the Israelites wandered in the desert for their doubts, the tradition holds, the bones of Judah rolled around (Hebrew: מְגוּלְגָּלִין) in their coffin for his shame, until Moses prayed for mercy.
"[6] Another early use of the phrase is in historian James Bryce's 1888 work The American Commonwealth in which he said: "Jefferson might turn in his grave if he knew.
[8] In 1902, the work Current Literature stated that "William Morris might well turn in his grave if he could see the uses to which his fine dreams of beautiful books have been put.
"[9] Where the sorry state of people's spelling/punctuation/literary skills come under criticism, the act is generally said to make "Shakespeare turn in his grave," as he is associated with high literary standards.