1    verb  When people, animals, and plants grow, they increase in size and change physically over a period of time. It certainly be required reading of all adults! They at least make more sense than ' head over heels ', which appears similar also, until remembering that our heads are usually over our heels. Senator Moseley-Braun notes with disapproval the majority leader's frequent use of the phrase ''grown like Topsy'' about the number of amendments added … "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra. I Googled and found your blog. Mary Moody – growing like Topsy. “The securities lending business had grown like topsy without any proper supervision, ballooning to as much as $2 billion.” Ben Butler; Fast Cars, Big Houses, Hot Money; The Australian (Canberra); Sep 13, 2018. 2. a. No. If you’re like me, your to-do list seems to grow faster than you can ever hope to complete even a fraction of the items on it. Feel we just "growed" like Topsy..."I am so grateful to see this website and be able to interrpret the letter's meaning. But I read the book not too long ago (last year or the year before). To expand; gain: The business grew under new owners. Soon "it growe'd like Topsy" had become a popular figure of speech to describe something that grew or increased by itself, without apparent design or divine intervention. <3I'm a landscaper so that is the reason why I use this phrase, in a positive manner, all the time. Children, Schools and Families Committee, National curriculum: Oral and written evidence (page 232) Why has National Strategies been allowed to grow like Topsy in some respects, and at the same time become even more complex, making it difficult for teachers to take in the amount of guidance that they receive? "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is one of those books that few people of adult age have actually read but "think they know all about it", which they rarely do. Soon "it growed like Topsy" had become a popular figure of speech to describe something that grew or increased by itself, without apparent design or intention, and by 1885 Rudyard Kipling was explaining to a correspondent that "I have really embarked... on my novel.. Like Topsy 'it growed' while I wrote." Find here Topsy name meaning, and origin. The original expression is “just grew like Topsy,” referring to Topsy in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who “jes grew.”As the original referent of “Topsy” becomes less and less familiar, the term has been reanalyzed by some as “top seed,” which sounds like something that might grow quickly. My Father just used the phrase, so I was pleased to find it here and I knew what he was implying!! 3. Our puppy has grown like Topsy since we switched to a new brand of dog food. And I am not alone. There's nothing like knowing theorigin and proper meaning of the phrases one hears. The Topsy connotations are far to nice and comfy to refer to the horrors of big organisations. Topsy (left) and Little Eva, characters from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851–52); lithograph by Louisa Corbaux, 1852. And for other tools it was like the older brother. Once the arms race began, it just grew, like Topsy. We all want to be like them when we grow up. When she is asked whether she knows who made her (that is, whether she has heard of … It is most commonly used by intellectuals, scholars, or just general cool people. topsy-turvy meaning: 1. Fences and gates give way to fields and enclosures for chickens, goats, geese and alpaca, meaning that Mary’s garden is a home yard indeed – if it extended any further most of it would end up as feed for the animals. Serf's up. Thanks! https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/grow+like+Topsy, Grow very quickly. : Unemployment is low, the dollar is high, and federal surpluses grow like Topsy. Thank you. I enjoy this word-blog of yours... Like you I often get curious about the origin of words and phrases! Girl name Topsy means. TOPSY Meaning: "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852), immortal in cliche for her response to a question about her origin put to… See definitions of topsy. I had never heard the phrase until this past Sunday on Fox News Sunday when Chris Wallace was interviewing Britt Hume, Chief Political Analyst for Fox News. When Britt used the phrase in reference to the growth of the government of the USA under the current administration, it caught my ear. Definition and synonyms of grow to love / hate / understand etc something from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education.. "O yes, mas'r," replied Topsy, with another twinkle. To increase in amount or degree; intensify: The suspense grew. :D. In a letter dated May 2nd, 1924 between two of my ancestors it reads:" Away so long from America, I've no idea where any of us were born. With the record amount of rain that we've been having in Chicago, ALL the gardens we care for "grow'd like Topsy." Thanks! Today "grow like Topsy" is most often heard in criticism of bureaucratic institutions or government budgets, for whose bloated sprawl and inefficiency no one is eager to take credit. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. ", My daughter Helen commented in November 2008 in her Blog that she was now keeping a notebook of new words that she came across during her reading. Search to grow like topsy and thousands of other words in English definition and synonym dictionary from Reverso. To grow like Topsy is to grow “wild, with neither plan, structure, nor direction.” Incidentally, have you ever wondered if incidental remarks like the preceding ones are going to vanish into the Googlesphere? Mar 19 2003, 7:00 PM Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion To rapidly grow or expand. To increase in size by a natural process. Topsy was shut down in 2015, leaving a huge gap in the world of social media analytics. To develop and reach maturity. This is the British English definition of grow to love / hate / understand etc something.View American English definition of grow to love / hate / understand etc something.. Change your default dictionary to American English. Name That Thing. I use that phrase ALL THE TIME and was very aware of it's origins; it's nice of you to share your knowledge with others as to where it came from. After many contributions, our website has grown like Topsy, and is now being completely revised. 'Those weeds in my garden are growing like Topsy!'. My post The Top 5 Misdemeanors of Topsy and Tim remains one of my most popular posts to date. Topsy name, name meaning and origin. 1. The subject could be a person or thing. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. 2009, Great Britain.Parliament. ing, grows v.intr. In the book Topsy just grew or according to Topsy herself, she just grow'd. Translation for 'Topsy' in the free English-Swedish dictionary and many other Swedish translations. One of those books that had been on my "classics-to-read-some-time" list for three decades or so, before I finally got round to. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Top‧sy /ˈtɒpsi $ ˈtɑːp-/ a small African-American girl character in the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin(1851–52) by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was a shock for everyone at Social Media because Topsy was a referent. Our small company has grown like Topsy over the past year, thanks in no small part to our aggressive new marketing campaign. Topsy connoting growing in an unplanned manner or growing rapidly. Behind the guise of clever instruction, all I did was report the results of a Google search on an unfamiliar phrase. Our small company has grown like Topsy over the past year, thanks in no small part to our aggressive new marketing campaign. Never heard the expression, and if I had, I probably wouldn't have made the connection. the origin of it is a little girl called Topsy in a book called 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' written by Harriet Beecher-Stowe. How to use grow like a weed in a sentence. It gets more like a bucket list of those 101 things to do before some significant age or date or whatever. For poor Miss Ophelia, already burdened with the care of a lot of little blacks, it was hard to understand why fate had brought this imp of darkness into her life. b. prior planning. E.g. 11 Jul 2014 Name That Thing. ( 'Grow like Topsy' is a reference to a character in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' who says at one point, 'I spect I grow'd.') Topsy, fictional character, a slave child in the antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe. ", “I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.” - Winnie the Pooh. To be capable of growth; thrive: a plant that grows in shade. 4. agreed Sian! 'Topsy-turvy', as with similar phrases like ' upside-down ' and 'arse over tit', refers to the top and bottom being interchanged from their usual places. It also has been receiving much love deserved like Topsy or not, if love can be expressed through dollars Learn more. See also: grow, like, Topsy "That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. 'Topsy' is … The topsy-turvy doll, as it’s known, most likely originated in American plantation nurseries of the early 19th century. I am glad that somebody has traced the origin of "grew like Topsy". Hope you don't mind but I referenced your blog on my blog:http://iandrewmartin.com/.Just seemed fitting for the piece I wrote today.Andrew MartinOld IT Guy. But just about all the dictionaries I've looked at define "growing like Topsy" to have the simple meaning of accelerated growth. : Comme toujours, le Parlement européen a tendance à gonfler, comme atteint d'éléphantiasis. : Le taux de chômage est bas, le dollar est fort et les excédents fédéraux augmentent sans cesse. As always, the European Parliament's tendency to grow like Topsy enters the picture. Definition of topsy-turvy from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio Wondering if the origin is a diminutive of topside-turvy. Just to be clear, we are not talking here about Topsy the elephant, sad story by the way. But the program that I question most is the annoyingly sweet and infuriatingly unrealistic Topsy & Tim and their Smug Face Mummy. -- correction, New York Times, Oct. 6 'Terrifying Numbers for Democrats' Long as you respect the property and don't make too much noise, why, I mind my business and 'spect you to mind yours. / / Bad News that Is Going to Be Really Good Economic News from Today’s Topsy Turvy Times As you try to find indicators of recovery in the financial chaos of this House of Commons. Our puppy has grown like Topsy since we switched to a new brand of dog food. :). You know the ones – they’re the books […] A celebratory collision of two persons’ open palms; the cooler, more hip term for high five. Surely not a reference to bureaucracies. As William Safire observed in a 2007 On Language column, one-off meaning "something unique" is a British expression that has been creeping into American speech and writing in recent years. 'To grow like Topsy' means to grow quickly. I knew it meant that something had grown LARGE but did not know that something grew without direction. Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content. We stop growing at maturity. People often mention Topsy when they are talking about something that seems to have grown quickly without being noticed. "Topsy, this is your new mistress," said Mr. St. Clare, solemnly. Turning to this week’s topic, it turns out that cybersecurity has been growing like Topsy in both ways. 'Our online business has grown like Topsy … Thus, we could say "Usenet grew like Topsy", "The shantytown of Soweto, like all such settlements, grew like Topsy" and so on. This phrase alludes to the little African-American slave girl in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s. (in a state of being) confused, not well organized, or giving importance to unexpected things…. 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