top·sy-tur·vy

[top-see-tur-vee] adverb, adjective, noun, plural top·sy-tur·vies.
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.
00:10
Topsyturvy is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
noun
6.
inversion of the natural order.
7.
a state of confusion or disorder.

Origin:
1520–30; perhaps variant of top syd turvye topside down (with loss of d before t); turvy, variant of tervy, equivalent to obsolete terve to turn over (cognate with Old High German zerben) + -y1

top·sy-tur·vi·ly, adverb
top·sy·tur·vi·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
topsy-turvy (ˈtɒpsɪˈtɜːvɪ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  upside down
2.  in a state of confusion
 
adv
3.  in a topsy-turvy manner
 
n
4.  a topsy-turvy state
 
[C16: probably from tops, plural of top1 + obsolete tervy to turn upside down; perhaps related to Old English tearflian to roll over]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

topsy-turvy definition

[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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Example sentences from the web
Then, the topsyturvy aspects of the antipodes become less humorous and more threatening.
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