topsy-turviness

top·sy-tur·vy (t

-tûr

)

adv.

1. With the top downward and the bottom up; upside-down.

2. In or into a state of utter disorder or confusion: "turning our ordered life topsy-turvy" (Anne Tyler).

adj. top·sy-tur·vi·er, top·sy-tur·vi·est

1. Turned or positioned upside down; inverted.

2. Confused or disordered.

n. pl. top·sy-tur·vies

The quality or condition of being topsy-turvy.

[Probably from top + obsolete terve, to overturn (from Middle English terven).]

topsy-turvi·ly adv.

topsy-turvi·ness n.

topsy-turvy [ˈtɒpsɪˈtɜːvɪ]

adj

1. upside down

2. in a state of confusion

adv

in a topsy-turvy manner

a topsy-turvy state

[probably from tops, plural of top¹ + obsolete tervy to turn upside down; perhaps related to Old English tearflian to roll over]

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Adj.	1.	topsy-turvy - in utter disorder; "a disorderly pile of clothes" higgledy-piggledy, hugger-mugger, jumbled, disorderly untidy - not neat and tidy; "careless and untidy in her personal habits"; "an untidy living room"; "untidy and casual about money"
Adv.	1.	topsy-turvy - in a disordered manner; "they were piled up higgledy-piggledy" higgledy-piggledy
	2.	topsy-turvy - in disorderly haste; "we ran head over heels toward the shelter" head over heels, heels over head, in great confusion, topsy-turvily

topsy-turvy

adjective confused, upside-down, disorderly, chaotic, messy, mixed-up, jumbled, inside-out, untidy, disorganized, disarranged The world has turned topsy-turvy in my lifetime.
ordered, organized, neat, tidy, systematic, orderly, shipshape

Translations

topsy-turvy [ˌtɒpsɪˈtɜːvɪ]

A. ADJ → en desorden, revuelto

B. ADV → patas arriba, al revés
everything is topsy-turvy → todo está patas arriba

topsy-turvy (inf)

adj (lit: = upside down) → umgedreht; (= in disorder) → kunterbunt durcheinander pred; (fig) → auf den Kopf gestellt; it’s a topsy-turvy world → es ist eine verkehrte Welt; the room was all topsy-turvy → alles im Zimmer war kunterbunt durcheinander

adv to turn something topsy-turvy (lit, fig) → etw auf den Kopf stellen; plans → etw über den Haufen werfen

topsy-turvy [ˌtɒpsɪˈtɜːvɪ] adj & adv → sottosopra (inv)

Mentioned in	?		References in periodicals archive	?		Dictionary browser	?		Full browser	?
baseborn chaotic confused disorder disorderly haywire head over heels heels over head helter-skelter higgledy-piggledy hugger-mugger in great confusion jumbled looking glass low-class lowborn lower-class shambolic tapsalteerie	Such topsy-turviness is all of a piece in this curious town, where you can smoke inside in some bars yet not drink in others - 'We operate a no-alcohol policy here at the Cracker Barrel,' says the waiter with a slightly wonky, crazed grin. Casey savours generation game by guardian.co.uk / guardian.co.uk The worst thing about the Molehill Era is that topsy-turviness itself is offensive. The Molehill Minefield by KELLEY, DANA / Arkansas Business For Smith, breaking and disrupting boundaries in theater and society culminate in the execution of Charles I in 1649, an event prepared for by the theater which preceded it: "the merging of theater, festive topsy-turviness and punishment in the mid-seventeenth century may owe much to the deconsecration of authority in the drama that preceded it, but the drama of the early seventeenth century owes as much to the highly experimental and bold invocation of . Shakespeare and Carnival: After Bakhtin by Fortier, Mark / Renaissance Quarterly	topos topotype topped topper Toppiece topping topping lift topping-out Toppingly topple topple down topple over tops Tops-and-bottoms topsail topsail schooner topside topsider Topsman topsoil Topsoiling topspin topstitch Topstone topsy-turvily topsy-turviness topsy-turvy topsy-turvydom topsy-turvyness topsyturv(e)y TOPV toque Toquet tor Torace Toradol Torah Toran Torbay torbernite torc torch torch battery Torch race Torch singer torch song Torch thistle torchbearer Torcher torchère torchier	topsoil topsoil topsoiled topsoiled topsoiling topsoiling topsoils topsoils topspin Topspinner topspinners TOPSS TOPSTAC TOPSTAR topstitch topstitched topstitches topstitching Topstone Topsy Topsy Topsy Turvy topsy-turvier topsy-turvier topsy-turvies topsy-turvies topsy-turviest topsy-turviest topsy-turvily topsy-turvily topsy-turviness topsy-turvy topsy-turvy topsy-turvydom topsy-turvyness Topsy/Pokegama Landscape Analysis topsyturv(e)y TOPT Toptan Eþya Fiyat Endeksi Topten International Group TopText TopTOOLS TOPTS TOPTUS Topuria, Varlam Topuria, Varlam Trifonovich Topuridze, Valentin Topuridze, Valentin Bagratovich TOPUS TOPV TOPV TOPV Topview TOPWA topwork TOPWUIA TOPY Topzol Rat Baits and Killing Syrup

Mentioned in

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baseborn
chaotic
confused
disorder
disorderly
haywire
head over heels
heels over head
helter-skelter
higgledy-piggledy
hugger-mugger
in great confusion
jumbled
looking glass
low-class
lowborn
lower-class
shambolic
tapsalteerie

Such topsy-turviness is all of a piece in this curious town, where you can smoke inside in some bars yet not drink in others - 'We operate a no-alcohol policy here at the Cracker Barrel,' says the waiter with a slightly wonky, crazed grin.

Casey savours generation game by guardian.co.uk / guardian.co.uk

The worst thing about the Molehill Era is that topsy-turviness itself is offensive.

The Molehill Minefield by KELLEY, DANA / Arkansas Business

For Smith, breaking and disrupting boundaries in theater and society culminate in the execution of Charles I in 1649, an event prepared for by the theater which preceded it: "the merging of theater, festive topsy-turviness and punishment in the mid-seventeenth century may owe much to the deconsecration of authority in the drama that preceded it, but the drama of the early seventeenth century owes as much to the highly experimental and bold invocation of .

Shakespeare and Carnival: After Bakhtin by Fortier, Mark / Renaissance Quarterly

topsy-turvy (redirected from topsy-turviness)

topsy-turvy
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