topsy-turvy [E16th] 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’).