Jarrell's "upside down"

[Jonathan Lighter]

In a note to accompany "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," Randall
Jarrell wrote that because of the turret's position in the belly of the
aircraft, the gunner would be "hunched upside-down in his little sphere."

But of course the gunner was not "upside down" in the only sense recognized
by the OED. (A "fig." sense is "in a state of overthrow, reversal, or
disorder.")  He was "upside down" only in the sense that sky was below him
and the the solid "ground" of the bomber was above his head. The
gunner actually lay on his back with his knees (and arms) up, though in
extreme circumstances he might be virtually standing on his feet.  But the
turret wasn't built to go "upside down."  Is lying on your back "upside
down"?

Jarrell's usage sounds simultaneously weird and natural to me. In fact, I've
never thought of how "strange" it is till now.

JL
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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