Definition of topsy-turvy in English:

topsy-turvy

adjective & adverb ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːviˌtɑpsiˈtərvi

1Upside down.
颠倒的；颠倒地
as adverb the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy
游乐场的环滑车使乘车人颠倒过来了。
Example sentencesExamples
- But he also admitted that an excessively gung-ho attitude had cost that 2001 team dear, especially in that topsy-turvy Calcutta Test, when Australia lost seven wickets in the final session.
- Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of British politics, where success is rewarded with a relatively lowly salary, and failure is met with a succession of job offers, inducements and lavish speaking fees.
- One of the topsy-turvy things about Australia is the way people rush to identify themselves as an underdog or a battler, the way in which being an outsider, a misfit, is the conservative, establishment position.
- In her topsy-turvy upside down world she could clearly make out exactly where her body was supposed to be going but she misinterpreted it somewhere from perception to motion.
- If you're living in a topsy-turvy world, try a pineapple upside-down cake, a fresh-berry baked custard, or a green tomato pie.
- This is the topsy-turvy world of the mainstream media.
- Probing the topsy-turvy jumble of wreckage, I spotted the parallel lines of tank tracks.
- It just ‘happens’ and turns our lives topsy-turvy.
- In Weigel's topsy-turvy world, the bishops' main failing was not arrogance but its antithesis: passivity.
- But the deeper effect of seeing the world from a different perspective, of calmly abiding in a topsy-turvy, upside-down world, may be the most profound benefit of all.
- In other words, stop the Audrey-like intellectual flirtation and make yourself a sexual predator, since in this topsy-turvy world, promiscuity has become a virtue.
- How would they know which way the lake lies, when most of the time - in this topsy-turvy capital, punctured by the tall green craters of half a dozen ancient volcanoes - they cannot even see the lake?
- The film is about an old couple who have this gorgeous son, and how after leading a happily married life their world suddenly turns topsy-turvy because of one incident.
- I t is a measure of how topsy-turvy the immigration environment has become that to ask police officials about the illegal-alien crime problem feels like a gross faux pas, not done in polite company.
- Not for the first time, I reflect on the topsy-turvy, upside-down parallel universe of India.
- Well, Wolf, as you know, this has been a topsy-turvy race all the way along, one candidate's been up, one candidate's been down.
- But for sheer drama in this topsy-turvy year, nothing beats the next 11 days as Democratic voters write their own dear-John letters.
- The dame, usually a man dressed as a woman and always the funniest character in any pantomime, harks back to ancient days when the mid-winter celebration was a topsy-turvy affair with lots of blowsy humour and surprises.
- Everything is topsy-turvy: there is a Cadillac in the attic, the living are dead, wives are knives, crows are white, a joke walks into a bar.
- And when the Press Complaints Commission steps in to point out that not all politicians are ‘fair game’, it is fair to assume that you have tumbled into a topsy-turvy place.
Synonyms
upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa
1. 1.1 In a state of confusion.
  混乱的；混乱地
  as adjective the topsy-turvy months of the invasion
  入侵时混乱的几个月。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Then of course came the drought and everything has been topsy-turvy, with some events threatened by the lack of rain and grass coverage on the playing fields.
  But it has been that kind of topsy-turvy election year.
  It all converged one day during his topsy-turvy four-month ride as chief executive officer, when Upside magazine listed his company among the hot 100 firms in technology.
  In the current topsy-turvy climate, the organisers are still reliant on decent pitch and weather conditions, but are confident that the next four weeks will prove favourable.
  In England, the politics of this issue are strangely topsy-turvy.
  Infotel's topsy-turvy legal odyssey is being stalled by complex questions about international jurisdiction.
  Responding to the vast demand from readers for a place in the topsy-turvy school, these two books were written to demonstrate the challenges of attending a school with such a bizarre curriculum.
  A full-time career in the topsy-turvy world of film and television production is a very real possibility for her future.
  This topsy-turvy condition resulted in an expensive and chaotic quest for new artistic direction.
  And it just reminded me that no matter what else is happening, no matter how much you think your life is topsy-turvy, the world is moving on and in ways that are beautiful to see - if one could just stop and look for a moment.
  And even though they now stand 11 points shy of fifth place with games running out, the topsy-turvy nature of Conference North means anything can yet happen.
  The topsy-turvy nature of the Parliamentary debate on a Bill to limit the use of parental corporal punishment would make an excellent scenario for a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
  After a recent topsy-turvy spell (we live in interesting political times), the Civil Union Bill appears to be back on track.
  It's the kind of topsy-turvy world we inhabit in our sleep, but creating these unusual clothes has been anything but sweet dreams for the young designer.
  Last year was a topsy-turvy affair for my family.
  For in today's topsy-turvy business world, defining core corporate purpose, even at the level of social chit-chat, has never offered a tougher challenge.
  The island is a topsy-turvy world, a magical and terrifying place where the voyagers' encounters are unpredictable, filled with treachery, danger and wonder.
  But Sarah's outlook remains optimistic and most importantly as balanced as it can be in the upside-down, topsy-turvy world of an actor.
  But by tomorrow I'll be working 8pm to 8am, and everything will become very topsy-turvy.
  Wondrous ethereal, soft comes along the third movement, as though exhausted from the topsy-turvy scherzo.
  Ok, so life is topsy-turvy (even by my standards) at the moment.
  Synonyms
  in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens
  informal higgledy-piggledy, every which way

noun ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːviˌtɑpsiˈtərvi

A state of utter confusion.
混乱的；混乱地
this economic topsy-turvy has been set in motion by employee ownership of public companies

Derivatives

topsy-turvydom

noun

topsy-turvily

adverb

But alas, in our mechanical universe and in our seedy Romanesque society, things ideal have become perverted and many of our perceptions are based topsy-turvily on our opinions, which in turn are based on other opinions in a sprawling tissue of lies and nonsense, prejudice and superficialities.
Example sentencesExamples
- There's joy in the berthing that's managed so scurvily, Pleasure in each individual lurch; Joy in the pitching about topsy-turvily, Fun in the custom-house officers’ search!
- This hieratic homunculus (sometimes it's a woman, a couple, several figures; sometimes it's normally shaped) gropes and gesticulates in a tight, claustrophobic cosmos where homey symbols commingle topsy-turvily with those of more poetic and spiritual allusion.
- While groping her way about, Eve barked her shins against pieces of furniture that seemed to be lying topsy-turvily about.
- The very same sattva, rajas and tamas begin functioning in a topsy-turvy manner when there is isolation or the dividing of individuals, just as the reflection of the sun in shaky, muddy water, or the reflection of one's own body in a pool or a mass of water looks topsy-turvily reflected.

topsy-turviness

noun

Frank certainly didn't reinvent the wheel, but this book has been the most comprehensive and enjoyable explanation of the last few decades’ topsy-turviness in politics.
Example sentencesExamples
- The contrast between the Stowe / Lincoln and Truth / Lincoln meetings also sets up the metaphor of topsy-turviness.
- The Cardinals have proven that in this season of topsy-turviness at every possible turn, the best way to rectify embarrassment is to come out and play with passion the following week.
- The countercultural Christian position is laid out in all its topsy-turviness, with its opposition to killing, its failure to be impressed by ambition, and its striving, however imperfect, for social equality.
- The genius of this dark magic is its topsy-turviness.
- The toddlers made fascinating subjects with their bewildered reactions to the topsy-turviness around them.
- The sculptures depict the clothed human figure, in poses that suggest discomfiture or topsy-turviness, which are meant to emphasize the duality between accident and control that is a fundamental aspect of the human experience.
- If the season hasn't already turned your life upside down, you now have a chance to experience its topsy-turviness in true medieval spirit.
- As the boy rises, he stumbles, falls into the mirror, somehow pushes himself away, now he feels how strange things are, all topsy-turvy, and it's not just the rocking, because the topsy-turviness doesn't go away, it doesn't swing back in the other direction, as it should, but stays the same.
- Much of ‘Topsy-Turvy’'s topsy-turviness does sort itself out with repeated viewings.
- These minor miracles of topsy-turviness start with a layer of fruit (most often canned pineapple) in a sweet, syrupy, buttery glaze in the bottom of a heavy pan or skillet.
- He makes a persuasive case that the invasion was an instance of ideological topsy-turviness - liberal interventionism, the opposite of conservative isolationism.
- It's a waste of time to read such topsy-turviness.
- Her tour de force in taking Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin as a metaphor for the topsy-turviness of women's writing characterizes her own relation to the tradition of women's literary criticism: she contributes to the tradition all the while turning it inside out and upside down.
- The upper classes drew upon traditional elite cultural forms of festival, drama and play, and their associated processes of topsy-turviness, role switching and subversion to attempt to revivify a dying social order.
- A more radical example of my topsy-turviness: I fell in love briefly with a nature photographer I met at this same crafts fair.
- And aside from it's topsy-turviness for European speakers, Japanese grammar is also consistent and relatively straightforward.
- In effect, one begins to sense that what is seen or heard cannot be believed; the topsy-turviness of the whole Malanka event is this suspension of normalcy; abnormalacy, absurdity, and anomaly take over.
- Really, the topsy-turviness of the world is terrible.
- The plot of the novel, like most by Wodehouse, is somewhat difficult to synopsize, being so incident rich, so filled with misunderstandings, reversals, topsy-turviness that a thumbnail sketch renders such a monstrous injustice.

Origin

Early 16th century: a jingle apparently based on top¹ and obsolete terve 'overturn'.

Things have been topsy-turvy since at least 1528. The term is probably based on top and turve, an old word meaning ‘to topple over, overturn’; the extra -ys are similar to those in hurly-burly (M16th from ‘hurling’ meaning ‘commotion’) and arsy-versy (also M16th, from arse and Latin versus, ‘turned’).

Rhymes

curvy, Nervi, nervy, scurvy

Definition of topsy-turvy in US English:

topsy-turvy

adjective & adverbˌtɑpsiˈtərviˌtäpsēˈtərvē

1Upside down.
颠倒的；颠倒地
as adverb the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy
游乐场的环滑车使乘车人颠倒过来了。
Example sentencesExamples
- This is the topsy-turvy world of the mainstream media.
- Everything is topsy-turvy: there is a Cadillac in the attic, the living are dead, wives are knives, crows are white, a joke walks into a bar.
- In her topsy-turvy upside down world she could clearly make out exactly where her body was supposed to be going but she misinterpreted it somewhere from perception to motion.
- One of the topsy-turvy things about Australia is the way people rush to identify themselves as an underdog or a battler, the way in which being an outsider, a misfit, is the conservative, establishment position.
- I t is a measure of how topsy-turvy the immigration environment has become that to ask police officials about the illegal-alien crime problem feels like a gross faux pas, not done in polite company.
- How would they know which way the lake lies, when most of the time - in this topsy-turvy capital, punctured by the tall green craters of half a dozen ancient volcanoes - they cannot even see the lake?
- But he also admitted that an excessively gung-ho attitude had cost that 2001 team dear, especially in that topsy-turvy Calcutta Test, when Australia lost seven wickets in the final session.
- If you're living in a topsy-turvy world, try a pineapple upside-down cake, a fresh-berry baked custard, or a green tomato pie.
- But for sheer drama in this topsy-turvy year, nothing beats the next 11 days as Democratic voters write their own dear-John letters.
- Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of British politics, where success is rewarded with a relatively lowly salary, and failure is met with a succession of job offers, inducements and lavish speaking fees.
- Probing the topsy-turvy jumble of wreckage, I spotted the parallel lines of tank tracks.
- Well, Wolf, as you know, this has been a topsy-turvy race all the way along, one candidate's been up, one candidate's been down.
- And when the Press Complaints Commission steps in to point out that not all politicians are ‘fair game’, it is fair to assume that you have tumbled into a topsy-turvy place.
- In other words, stop the Audrey-like intellectual flirtation and make yourself a sexual predator, since in this topsy-turvy world, promiscuity has become a virtue.
- But the deeper effect of seeing the world from a different perspective, of calmly abiding in a topsy-turvy, upside-down world, may be the most profound benefit of all.
- It just ‘happens’ and turns our lives topsy-turvy.
- The dame, usually a man dressed as a woman and always the funniest character in any pantomime, harks back to ancient days when the mid-winter celebration was a topsy-turvy affair with lots of blowsy humour and surprises.
- The film is about an old couple who have this gorgeous son, and how after leading a happily married life their world suddenly turns topsy-turvy because of one incident.
- Not for the first time, I reflect on the topsy-turvy, upside-down parallel universe of India.
- In Weigel's topsy-turvy world, the bishops' main failing was not arrogance but its antithesis: passivity.
Synonyms
upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa
upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa
1. 1.1 In a state of confusion.
  混乱的；混乱地
  as adjective the topsy-turvy months of the invasion
  入侵时混乱的几个月。
  Example sentencesExamples
  Responding to the vast demand from readers for a place in the topsy-turvy school, these two books were written to demonstrate the challenges of attending a school with such a bizarre curriculum.
  For in today's topsy-turvy business world, defining core corporate purpose, even at the level of social chit-chat, has never offered a tougher challenge.
  Ok, so life is topsy-turvy (even by my standards) at the moment.
  In the current topsy-turvy climate, the organisers are still reliant on decent pitch and weather conditions, but are confident that the next four weeks will prove favourable.
  The topsy-turvy nature of the Parliamentary debate on a Bill to limit the use of parental corporal punishment would make an excellent scenario for a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
  But Sarah's outlook remains optimistic and most importantly as balanced as it can be in the upside-down, topsy-turvy world of an actor.
  It's the kind of topsy-turvy world we inhabit in our sleep, but creating these unusual clothes has been anything but sweet dreams for the young designer.
  But by tomorrow I'll be working 8pm to 8am, and everything will become very topsy-turvy.
  Then of course came the drought and everything has been topsy-turvy, with some events threatened by the lack of rain and grass coverage on the playing fields.
  Infotel's topsy-turvy legal odyssey is being stalled by complex questions about international jurisdiction.
  A full-time career in the topsy-turvy world of film and television production is a very real possibility for her future.
  Wondrous ethereal, soft comes along the third movement, as though exhausted from the topsy-turvy scherzo.
  After a recent topsy-turvy spell (we live in interesting political times), the Civil Union Bill appears to be back on track.
  In England, the politics of this issue are strangely topsy-turvy.
  Last year was a topsy-turvy affair for my family.
  The island is a topsy-turvy world, a magical and terrifying place where the voyagers' encounters are unpredictable, filled with treachery, danger and wonder.
  It all converged one day during his topsy-turvy four-month ride as chief executive officer, when Upside magazine listed his company among the hot 100 firms in technology.
  But it has been that kind of topsy-turvy election year.
  And even though they now stand 11 points shy of fifth place with games running out, the topsy-turvy nature of Conference North means anything can yet happen.
  This topsy-turvy condition resulted in an expensive and chaotic quest for new artistic direction.
  And it just reminded me that no matter what else is happening, no matter how much you think your life is topsy-turvy, the world is moving on and in ways that are beautiful to see - if one could just stop and look for a moment.
  Synonyms
  in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens
  in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens

nounˌtɑpsiˈtərviˌtäpsēˈtərvē

A state of utter confusion.
混乱的；混乱地

Origin

Early 16th century: a jingle apparently based on top and obsolete terve ‘overturn’.

词汇	topsy-turvy
释义	Definition of topsy-turvy in English: topsy-turvy adjective & adverb ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːviˌtɑpsiˈtərvi 1Upside down. 颠倒的；颠倒地 as adverb the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy 游乐场的环滑车使乘车人颠倒过来了。 Example sentencesExamples But he also admitted that an excessively gung-ho attitude had cost that 2001 team dear, especially in that topsy-turvy Calcutta Test, when Australia lost seven wickets in the final session. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of British politics, where success is rewarded with a relatively lowly salary, and failure is met with a succession of job offers, inducements and lavish speaking fees. One of the topsy-turvy things about Australia is the way people rush to identify themselves as an underdog or a battler, the way in which being an outsider, a misfit, is the conservative, establishment position. In her topsy-turvy upside down world she could clearly make out exactly where her body was supposed to be going but she misinterpreted it somewhere from perception to motion. If you're living in a topsy-turvy world, try a pineapple upside-down cake, a fresh-berry baked custard, or a green tomato pie. This is the topsy-turvy world of the mainstream media. Probing the topsy-turvy jumble of wreckage, I spotted the parallel lines of tank tracks. It just ‘happens’ and turns our lives topsy-turvy. In Weigel's topsy-turvy world, the bishops' main failing was not arrogance but its antithesis: passivity. But the deeper effect of seeing the world from a different perspective, of calmly abiding in a topsy-turvy, upside-down world, may be the most profound benefit of all. In other words, stop the Audrey-like intellectual flirtation and make yourself a sexual predator, since in this topsy-turvy world, promiscuity has become a virtue. How would they know which way the lake lies, when most of the time - in this topsy-turvy capital, punctured by the tall green craters of half a dozen ancient volcanoes - they cannot even see the lake? The film is about an old couple who have this gorgeous son, and how after leading a happily married life their world suddenly turns topsy-turvy because of one incident. I t is a measure of how topsy-turvy the immigration environment has become that to ask police officials about the illegal-alien crime problem feels like a gross faux pas, not done in polite company. Not for the first time, I reflect on the topsy-turvy, upside-down parallel universe of India. Well, Wolf, as you know, this has been a topsy-turvy race all the way along, one candidate's been up, one candidate's been down. But for sheer drama in this topsy-turvy year, nothing beats the next 11 days as Democratic voters write their own dear-John letters. The dame, usually a man dressed as a woman and always the funniest character in any pantomime, harks back to ancient days when the mid-winter celebration was a topsy-turvy affair with lots of blowsy humour and surprises. Everything is topsy-turvy: there is a Cadillac in the attic, the living are dead, wives are knives, crows are white, a joke walks into a bar. And when the Press Complaints Commission steps in to point out that not all politicians are ‘fair game’, it is fair to assume that you have tumbled into a topsy-turvy place. Synonyms upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa 1.1 In a state of confusion. 混乱的；混乱地 as adjective the topsy-turvy months of the invasion 入侵时混乱的几个月。 Example sentencesExamples Then of course came the drought and everything has been topsy-turvy, with some events threatened by the lack of rain and grass coverage on the playing fields. But it has been that kind of topsy-turvy election year. It all converged one day during his topsy-turvy four-month ride as chief executive officer, when Upside magazine listed his company among the hot 100 firms in technology. In the current topsy-turvy climate, the organisers are still reliant on decent pitch and weather conditions, but are confident that the next four weeks will prove favourable. In England, the politics of this issue are strangely topsy-turvy. Infotel's topsy-turvy legal odyssey is being stalled by complex questions about international jurisdiction. Responding to the vast demand from readers for a place in the topsy-turvy school, these two books were written to demonstrate the challenges of attending a school with such a bizarre curriculum. A full-time career in the topsy-turvy world of film and television production is a very real possibility for her future. This topsy-turvy condition resulted in an expensive and chaotic quest for new artistic direction. And it just reminded me that no matter what else is happening, no matter how much you think your life is topsy-turvy, the world is moving on and in ways that are beautiful to see - if one could just stop and look for a moment. And even though they now stand 11 points shy of fifth place with games running out, the topsy-turvy nature of Conference North means anything can yet happen. The topsy-turvy nature of the Parliamentary debate on a Bill to limit the use of parental corporal punishment would make an excellent scenario for a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. After a recent topsy-turvy spell (we live in interesting political times), the Civil Union Bill appears to be back on track. It's the kind of topsy-turvy world we inhabit in our sleep, but creating these unusual clothes has been anything but sweet dreams for the young designer. Last year was a topsy-turvy affair for my family. For in today's topsy-turvy business world, defining core corporate purpose, even at the level of social chit-chat, has never offered a tougher challenge. The island is a topsy-turvy world, a magical and terrifying place where the voyagers' encounters are unpredictable, filled with treachery, danger and wonder. But Sarah's outlook remains optimistic and most importantly as balanced as it can be in the upside-down, topsy-turvy world of an actor. But by tomorrow I'll be working 8pm to 8am, and everything will become very topsy-turvy. Wondrous ethereal, soft comes along the third movement, as though exhausted from the topsy-turvy scherzo. Ok, so life is topsy-turvy (even by my standards) at the moment. Synonyms in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens informal higgledy-piggledy, every which way noun ˌtɒpsɪˈtəːviˌtɑpsiˈtərvi A state of utter confusion. 混乱的；混乱地 this economic topsy-turvy has been set in motion by employee ownership of public companies Derivatives topsy-turvydom noun topsy-turvily adverb But alas, in our mechanical universe and in our seedy Romanesque society, things ideal have become perverted and many of our perceptions are based topsy-turvily on our opinions, which in turn are based on other opinions in a sprawling tissue of lies and nonsense, prejudice and superficialities. Example sentencesExamples There's joy in the berthing that's managed so scurvily, Pleasure in each individual lurch; Joy in the pitching about topsy-turvily, Fun in the custom-house officers’ search! This hieratic homunculus (sometimes it's a woman, a couple, several figures; sometimes it's normally shaped) gropes and gesticulates in a tight, claustrophobic cosmos where homey symbols commingle topsy-turvily with those of more poetic and spiritual allusion. While groping her way about, Eve barked her shins against pieces of furniture that seemed to be lying topsy-turvily about. The very same sattva, rajas and tamas begin functioning in a topsy-turvy manner when there is isolation or the dividing of individuals, just as the reflection of the sun in shaky, muddy water, or the reflection of one's own body in a pool or a mass of water looks topsy-turvily reflected. topsy-turviness noun Frank certainly didn't reinvent the wheel, but this book has been the most comprehensive and enjoyable explanation of the last few decades’ topsy-turviness in politics. Example sentencesExamples The contrast between the Stowe / Lincoln and Truth / Lincoln meetings also sets up the metaphor of topsy-turviness. The Cardinals have proven that in this season of topsy-turviness at every possible turn, the best way to rectify embarrassment is to come out and play with passion the following week. The countercultural Christian position is laid out in all its topsy-turviness, with its opposition to killing, its failure to be impressed by ambition, and its striving, however imperfect, for social equality. The genius of this dark magic is its topsy-turviness. The toddlers made fascinating subjects with their bewildered reactions to the topsy-turviness around them. The sculptures depict the clothed human figure, in poses that suggest discomfiture or topsy-turviness, which are meant to emphasize the duality between accident and control that is a fundamental aspect of the human experience. If the season hasn't already turned your life upside down, you now have a chance to experience its topsy-turviness in true medieval spirit. As the boy rises, he stumbles, falls into the mirror, somehow pushes himself away, now he feels how strange things are, all topsy-turvy, and it's not just the rocking, because the topsy-turviness doesn't go away, it doesn't swing back in the other direction, as it should, but stays the same. Much of ‘Topsy-Turvy’'s topsy-turviness does sort itself out with repeated viewings. These minor miracles of topsy-turviness start with a layer of fruit (most often canned pineapple) in a sweet, syrupy, buttery glaze in the bottom of a heavy pan or skillet. He makes a persuasive case that the invasion was an instance of ideological topsy-turviness - liberal interventionism, the opposite of conservative isolationism. It's a waste of time to read such topsy-turviness. Her tour de force in taking Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin as a metaphor for the topsy-turviness of women's writing characterizes her own relation to the tradition of women's literary criticism: she contributes to the tradition all the while turning it inside out and upside down. The upper classes drew upon traditional elite cultural forms of festival, drama and play, and their associated processes of topsy-turviness, role switching and subversion to attempt to revivify a dying social order. A more radical example of my topsy-turviness: I fell in love briefly with a nature photographer I met at this same crafts fair. And aside from it's topsy-turviness for European speakers, Japanese grammar is also consistent and relatively straightforward. In effect, one begins to sense that what is seen or heard cannot be believed; the topsy-turviness of the whole Malanka event is this suspension of normalcy; abnormalacy, absurdity, and anomaly take over. Really, the topsy-turviness of the world is terrible. The plot of the novel, like most by Wodehouse, is somewhat difficult to synopsize, being so incident rich, so filled with misunderstandings, reversals, topsy-turviness that a thumbnail sketch renders such a monstrous injustice. Origin Early 16th century: a jingle apparently based on top¹ and obsolete terve 'overturn'. Things have been topsy-turvy since at least 1528. The term is probably based on top and turve, an old word meaning ‘to topple over, overturn’; the extra -ys are similar to those in hurly-burly (M16th from ‘hurling’ meaning ‘commotion’) and arsy-versy (also M16th, from arse and Latin versus, ‘turned’). Rhymes curvy, Nervi, nervy, scurvy Definition of topsy-turvy in US English: topsy-turvy adjective & adverbˌtɑpsiˈtərviˌtäpsēˈtərvē 1Upside down. 颠倒的；颠倒地 as adverb the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy 游乐场的环滑车使乘车人颠倒过来了。 Example sentencesExamples This is the topsy-turvy world of the mainstream media. Everything is topsy-turvy: there is a Cadillac in the attic, the living are dead, wives are knives, crows are white, a joke walks into a bar. In her topsy-turvy upside down world she could clearly make out exactly where her body was supposed to be going but she misinterpreted it somewhere from perception to motion. One of the topsy-turvy things about Australia is the way people rush to identify themselves as an underdog or a battler, the way in which being an outsider, a misfit, is the conservative, establishment position. I t is a measure of how topsy-turvy the immigration environment has become that to ask police officials about the illegal-alien crime problem feels like a gross faux pas, not done in polite company. How would they know which way the lake lies, when most of the time - in this topsy-turvy capital, punctured by the tall green craters of half a dozen ancient volcanoes - they cannot even see the lake? But he also admitted that an excessively gung-ho attitude had cost that 2001 team dear, especially in that topsy-turvy Calcutta Test, when Australia lost seven wickets in the final session. If you're living in a topsy-turvy world, try a pineapple upside-down cake, a fresh-berry baked custard, or a green tomato pie. But for sheer drama in this topsy-turvy year, nothing beats the next 11 days as Democratic voters write their own dear-John letters. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of British politics, where success is rewarded with a relatively lowly salary, and failure is met with a succession of job offers, inducements and lavish speaking fees. Probing the topsy-turvy jumble of wreckage, I spotted the parallel lines of tank tracks. Well, Wolf, as you know, this has been a topsy-turvy race all the way along, one candidate's been up, one candidate's been down. And when the Press Complaints Commission steps in to point out that not all politicians are ‘fair game’, it is fair to assume that you have tumbled into a topsy-turvy place. In other words, stop the Audrey-like intellectual flirtation and make yourself a sexual predator, since in this topsy-turvy world, promiscuity has become a virtue. But the deeper effect of seeing the world from a different perspective, of calmly abiding in a topsy-turvy, upside-down world, may be the most profound benefit of all. It just ‘happens’ and turns our lives topsy-turvy. The dame, usually a man dressed as a woman and always the funniest character in any pantomime, harks back to ancient days when the mid-winter celebration was a topsy-turvy affair with lots of blowsy humour and surprises. The film is about an old couple who have this gorgeous son, and how after leading a happily married life their world suddenly turns topsy-turvy because of one incident. Not for the first time, I reflect on the topsy-turvy, upside-down parallel universe of India. In Weigel's topsy-turvy world, the bishops' main failing was not arrogance but its antithesis: passivity. Synonyms upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa upside down, wrong side up, head over heels, inverted, reversed, upset, backwards, vice versa 1.1 In a state of confusion. 混乱的；混乱地 as adjective the topsy-turvy months of the invasion 入侵时混乱的几个月。 Example sentencesExamples Responding to the vast demand from readers for a place in the topsy-turvy school, these two books were written to demonstrate the challenges of attending a school with such a bizarre curriculum. For in today's topsy-turvy business world, defining core corporate purpose, even at the level of social chit-chat, has never offered a tougher challenge. Ok, so life is topsy-turvy (even by my standards) at the moment. In the current topsy-turvy climate, the organisers are still reliant on decent pitch and weather conditions, but are confident that the next four weeks will prove favourable. The topsy-turvy nature of the Parliamentary debate on a Bill to limit the use of parental corporal punishment would make an excellent scenario for a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. But Sarah's outlook remains optimistic and most importantly as balanced as it can be in the upside-down, topsy-turvy world of an actor. It's the kind of topsy-turvy world we inhabit in our sleep, but creating these unusual clothes has been anything but sweet dreams for the young designer. But by tomorrow I'll be working 8pm to 8am, and everything will become very topsy-turvy. Then of course came the drought and everything has been topsy-turvy, with some events threatened by the lack of rain and grass coverage on the playing fields. Infotel's topsy-turvy legal odyssey is being stalled by complex questions about international jurisdiction. A full-time career in the topsy-turvy world of film and television production is a very real possibility for her future. Wondrous ethereal, soft comes along the third movement, as though exhausted from the topsy-turvy scherzo. After a recent topsy-turvy spell (we live in interesting political times), the Civil Union Bill appears to be back on track. In England, the politics of this issue are strangely topsy-turvy. Last year was a topsy-turvy affair for my family. The island is a topsy-turvy world, a magical and terrifying place where the voyagers' encounters are unpredictable, filled with treachery, danger and wonder. It all converged one day during his topsy-turvy four-month ride as chief executive officer, when Upside magazine listed his company among the hot 100 firms in technology. But it has been that kind of topsy-turvy election year. And even though they now stand 11 points shy of fifth place with games running out, the topsy-turvy nature of Conference North means anything can yet happen. This topsy-turvy condition resulted in an expensive and chaotic quest for new artistic direction. And it just reminded me that no matter what else is happening, no matter how much you think your life is topsy-turvy, the world is moving on and in ways that are beautiful to see - if one could just stop and look for a moment. Synonyms in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens in disorder, disordered, disorderly, in confusion, confused, mixed up, in a muddle, muddled, in a jumble, jumbled, in chaos, chaotic, disorganized, messy, untidy, in disarray, in a mess, awry, askew, upside down, upset, disrupted, at sixes and sevens nounˌtɑpsiˈtərviˌtäpsēˈtərvē A state of utter confusion. 混乱的；混乱地 Origin Early 16th century: a jingle apparently based on top and obsolete terve ‘overturn’.
随便看	tenges Teng Hsiao-p'ing teng hsiao-p'ing tenia tenias varied variedly variedly variedness variednesses variegate variegate variegated variegation variegation variegations variegator varier varies varietal varietally varietally varieties varietist variety