Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Topsy-turvy |
Topsy-turvyAdjective1. In utter disorder; "a disorderly pile of clothes". Adverb1. In a disordered manner; "they were piled up higgledy-piggledy". 2. In disorderly haste; "we ran head over heels toward the shelter". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "topsy-turvy" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1509. (references) |
Note: Topsy-turvy \Top"sy-tur"vy\, adverb. [Earlier topside-turvey, topsy-tervy; probably for top so turvy; that is, the top as turvy, as it were turvy; where turvy probably means, overturned, from Anglo-Saxon torfian to throw.]. (Websters 1913) |
Synonyms: Topsy-turvySynonyms: disorderly (adj), hugger-mugger (adj), jumbled (adj), head over heels (adv), heels over head (adv), higgledy-piggledy (adv), in great confusion (adv), topsy-turvily (adv). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Arrangement | Turn topsy-turvy; (invert); bedevil; complicate, involve, perplex, confound; imbrangle, embrangle, tangle, entangle, ravel, tousle, towzle, dishevel, ruffle; rumple; (fold). |
Contrariety | Invert, reverse, turn the tables; turn topsy-turvy, turn end for end, turn upside down, turn inside out. |
Disorder | Immethodical; unsymmetric, unsystematic; untidy, slovenly; dislocated; out of sorts; promiscuous, indiscriminate; chaotic, anarchical; unarranged; (see arrange; ); confused; deranged; topsy-turvy; (inverted); shapeless; disjointed, out of joint. |
Inversion | Adjective: inverted; Verb: wrong side out, wrong side up; inside out, upside down; bottom upwards, keel upwards; supine, on one's head, topsy-turvy, sens dessus dessous. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Topsy-turvy |
| English words defined with "topsy-turvy": lowborn ♦ upside down, Upsyturvy. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "topsy-turvy": Delusion. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "topsy-turvy": higgledy-piggledy ♦ Upsyturvy. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Topsy-Turvy Sweedie (1914) The Boys of Topsy-Turvy Ranch (1910) Topsy-Turvy Quadrille (1899) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DELUSION, n. The father of a most respectable family, comprising Enthusiasm, Affection, Self-denial, Faith, Hope, Charity and many other goodly sons and daughters. All hail, Delusion! Were it not for thee The world turned topsy-turvy we should see; For Vice, respectable with cleanly fancies, Would fly abandoned Virtue's gross advances. Mumfrey Mappel |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Topsy-turvy" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 96.88% of the time. "Topsy-turvy" is used about 32 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 96.88% | 31 | 62,296 |
| Noun (singular) | 3.13% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 32 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Language | Translations for "topsy-turvy"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | ylösalaisin (over, the wrong side up, upside down), sikinsokin (in a mess, pell-mell, upside down), nurin niskoin (head over heels, headlong), mullin mallin (upside down). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | tout bouleverser (turn everything topsy-turvy). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | άνω-κάτω. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ל"פוך את "יוצרות (make a mess, turn things topsy-turvy). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | felfordult világ (topsy-turvydom), felfordított (topsy turvy, upside down), feje tetejére állítva, összevissza (helter-skelter, higgledy-piggledy, hugger-mugger, hurry-skurry, indiscriminate, pell mell, pell-mell, promiscuous, rambler, slap dash, slap-dash, straggly, to scour about, to straggle). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | kione y vreimmey 'syn aer, fud y cheilley (at variance, chaotic, confused, confusing, confusion, dishevelled, disorder, disordered, embarrassed, flustered, mixed up, muddle, muddled, perplexed, tangled), bun ry skyn (disordered, inverted, vice versa, wrong side up), bun ry baare (confusion, disorder, disordered). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | opsy-turvytay pôr em confusão (shuffle), em confusão, desordenadamente (discomposedly, disorderly, hugger-mugger, hurry-scurry, pell-mell), desordem (affray, clutter, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, discomposure, donnybrook, fray, huddle, hugger-mugger, hurry-scurry, jumble, litter, mess, misrule, muddle, mush, muss, pandemonium, pell-mell, perturbation, riot, rough-and-tumble, rout, ruction, ruffle, rumpus, scuffle, stir, tumble, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, untidiness, uproar, upset), de pernas para o ar (head over heels, upside down), de cabeça para baixo (upside down), confuso (abrupt, abstruse, blear, cloudy, confused, disorderly, disturbed, dizzy, hugger-mugger, indistinct, intricate, jumbled up, labyrinthine, lacklustre, mazy, medley, messy, mixed, muddle-headed, muddy, obscure, pell-mell, perplexed, promiscuous, rigmarole, rough and tumble, tangly), confusamente (dazedly, helter-skelter, hugger-mugger), confusão total, baralhado (involved, knotty), barafunda (confusion, mess, muddle, turmoil), s avessas. (various references) se întoarce cu susul în jos (turn topsy-turvy). (various references) шиворот-навыворот. (various references) bun-os-cionn. (various references) upp och nedvänd. (various references) pendramwnwgl (headlong). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"Topsy-turvy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: topsy-turvey. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "topsy-turvy" (pronounced 'Top"sy-tur"vy'): Anchovy, Cavy, Clavy, gravy, IVY, Navvy, Navy, Upsyturvy. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "o-p-r-s-t-t-u-v-y-y" | |
-3 letters: tryouts. | |
-4 letters: prutot, sporty, spotty, sprout, stoury, stupor, syrupy, trouts, trouty, trusty, tryout, tutors. | |
-5 letters: ports, potsy, potty, pours, pouts, pouty, prost, prosy, pursy, putto, putts, putty, roups, roupy, roust, routs, rusty, rutty, ryots, soupy, sport, spout, spurt, stopt, story, stoup, stour, stout, strop, stroy, strut, sturt, syrup, torts, torus, tours, touts, trots. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)54 6F 70 73 79 2D 74 75 72 76 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010100 01101111 01110000 01110011 01111001 00101101 01110100 01110101 01110010 01110110 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)T o p s y - t u r v y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0054 006F 0070 0073 0079 002D 0074 0075 0072 0076 0079 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)5481828591158687848891 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Derivations 10. Rhymes 11. Anagrams 12. Orthography | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
