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topsy-turvily

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top⋅sy-tur⋅vy

  [top-see-tur-vee] adverb, adjective, noun, plural -vies.
Use topsy-turvily in a Sentence
–adverb
1. with the top where the bottom should be; upside down.
2. in or into a reversed condition or order.
3. in or into a state of confusion or disorder.
–adjective
4. turned upside down; inverted; reversed: a topsy-turvy reflection.
5. confused or disorderly: a topsy-turvy classroom.
–noun
6. inversion of the natural order.
7. a state of confusion or disorder.
Origin:
1520–30; perh. var. of top syd turvye topside down (with loss of d before t); turvy, var. of tervy, equiv. to obs. terve to turn over (c. OHG zerben) + -y 1

Related forms:
top⋅sy-tur⋅vi⋅ly, adverb
top⋅sy⋅tur⋅vi⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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top·sy-tur·vy   (tŏp'sē-tûr'vē)   
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 top1 + obsolete terve, to overturn (from Middle English terven).]
top'sy-tur'vi·ly adv., top'sy-tur'vi·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
topsy-turvy [ˈtɑpsiˈtɚvi]

  1. mod.
    upside down; in disarray. : He came in and turned everything topsy-turvy.
  2. mod.
    alcohol intoxicated. : She was too topsy-turvy to stand up.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

topsy-turvy 
1528, "but prob. in popular use from an earlier period" [OED], likely from tops, pl. of top (1) "highest point" + obsolete terve "turn upside down, topple over," from O.E. tearflian "to roll over, overturn," from P.Gmc. *terbanan (cf. O.H.G. zerben "to turn round").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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