top-heavyadj.

Brit.

/ˌtɒpˈhɛvi/, U.S.

/ˈtɑpˌ(h)ɛvi/

Forms: see top n.¹ and adj. and heavy adj.¹ and n.

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: top n.¹, heavy adj.¹

Etymology: < top n.¹ + heavy adj.¹

a. Disproportionately heavy at the top so as to be in danger of toppling. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [adjective] > heavy > excessively > at top

top-heavy?1531

the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [adjective] > tottering > unstable > due to weight at top

top-heavy?1531

?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye ii. sig. h5 They haue made it so toppehevye, that it is surelye lyke to haue a falle.

a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 38 That they make theire loades broade and longe, but not over high and toppe-heavy for feare of throwinge over..the waine.

1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. ii. lxxvii Top heavy was his head with earthly policy.

1775 T. Pickering Easy Plan Discipline for Militia Pref. 18 From which position it might, tho' so long and top-heavy, be easily kept steady.

1862 T. A. Trollope Lenten Journey xvi. 259 We were top-heavy with eight or nine great sacks of letters on the roof [of the vehicle].

1907 J. P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld (1909) 207 Few drivers could have handled so top-heavy a load without capsizing.

1967 C. Isherwood Diary 21 Oct. in Sixties (2010) II. 477 This furniture was top-heavy and unpractical.

2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 67 It culminates in a stroll through an area of lush grass and top-heavy, cow-eyed daisies.

b. colloquial. Of a woman: having a (disproportionately) large bust.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > breast or breasts (of woman) > [adjective] > types of

milky1557

milkful1589

full-breasted1611

liberal?1624

milkless1636

busty1867

bosomful1870

pneumatic1910

bosomy1928

top-heavy1934

breasty1937

well-endowed1951

chesty1955

1934 Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 12 Nov. 7/4 (advt.) Are you Top-heavy—and very small at the hipline?

1989 Bella 29 Apr. 33/4 Since I'm only 5ft 2in tall and I'd always been a top heavy 36C I said I'd like to be smaller.

2005 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 14 July 33 The top-heavy temptress and the randy rocker checked into the Four Seasons in Maui this week.

2. slang. Drunk. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk

merrya1382

semi-bousyc1460

pipe merry1542

totty1570

tipsy1577

martin-drunk1592

pleasant1596

mellow1611

tip-merry1612

flustered1615

lusticka1616

well to live1619

jolly1652

happy1662

hazy1673

top-heavy1687

hearty1695

half-seas-over1699

oiled1701

mellowish1703

half channelled over1709

drunkish1710

half-and-half1718

touched1722

uppisha1726

tosie1727

bosky1730

funny1751

fairish1756

cherry-merry1769

in suds1770

muddy1776

glorious1790

groggified1796

well-corned1800

fresh1804

to be mops and brooms1814

foggy1816

how-come-ye-so1816

screwy1820

off the nail1821

on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821

swipey1821

muggy1822

rosy1823

snuffy1823

spreeish1825

elevated1827

up a stump1829

half-cockedc1830

tightish1830

tipsified1830

half shaved1834

screwed1837

half-shot1838

squizzed1845

drinky1846

a sheet in the wind1862

tight1868

toppy1885

tiddly1905

oiled-up1918

bonkers1943

sloshed1946

tiddled1956

hickey-

1557 tr. Erasmus Mery Dialogue sig. Cii At meate, se that al thinges be well fauored, and make good chere, And when that he is toppe heuy playing on his lute, sytte thou by and singe to him.

1687 in Duke of Buckingham's Wks. (1705) II. 120 Jack was too top-heavy to escape undiscovered.

1909 T. Beyer Life in Navy 210 After being..charged with being top heavy, Bill, who was quite a sea-lawyer, put up the following defense.

a. Of an organization: having too many executives, managers, or senior administrative staff compared to the number of ordinary workers.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > with too many people in senior administrative positions

top-heavy1659

1659 J. Harrington Disc. Spirit of Parliaments 3 It is incident unto such an Army, let the body thereof be never so popularly affected, to be under a Monarchical Administration, or to be top-heavy in their great Officers, which will have power, whether they will or no, to oversway both the Army and the Government.

1698 R. Cox Some Thoughts on Bill Exportation Woollen Manufacturers Irel. 6 This Rome did for four hundred years, till at last their Conquests were so large that their Government grew top-heavy.

1887 Proc. Ann. Meeting W. Virginia Bar Assoc. 57 It is a very small compliment to be one of the 13 Vice Presidents of this organization, and it seems to offer a premium to the gentlemen who are officers to stay away, as they presume that the other 12 will be there, and I think it is making the Association top heavy.

1963 Listener 7 Mar. 417/1 Petty officials multiplied till the administration became top-heavy.

2012 Irish News (Nexis) 15 Aug. 6 (headline) £80m review of hospital admin ‘failed’ to axe top-heavy bureaucracy.

b. Unbalanced through having some element or quality disproportionately found or positioned at the top; (more generally) having too much of one element at the expense of others; overburdened with something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [adjective] > unbalanced

tickle1515

instable1599

untrimmeda1732

unbalanced1733

uncounterbalanced1780

bottom-heavy1819

unstable1839

out of balance1920

off-kilter1985

1850 S. Coleridge Let. 3 July in Mem. & Lett. (1873) II. 328 Critics complain of his [sc. Turner's] skies as top-heavy. I have heard a clever engraver say that some of them might be turned upside down; that they are solid enough to stand upon.

1886 R. E. Thompson Protection to Home Industry 30 It is this that has made England a top-heavy country, with an over-developed manufacturing system, and an under-developed agriculture.

1925 National Forests & Public Domain: Hearings before Subcommittee 3291 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (69th Congr., 1st Sess: Senate Doc. 347 Pt. 10) I believe that this Nation is now top-heavy with too much law.

1997 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 20 Dec. (Scene section) 5/4 The second disc, top-heavy with overproduced MOR tearjerkers, is a tour de force of insufferableness.

2021 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 25 Oct. Chopra also listed India's top-heavy batting order as one of the primary reasons behind the loss.

4. Business and Finance. Overcapitalized.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > overcapitalized

top-heavy1934

1893 Financial Times 28 Apr. 2/2 The natural assumption would be that the bull account is top-heavy.

1922 Hearings before Comm. on Finance U.S. Senate Tariff Act 1921 Sched. 7 & 8 3117 These reports dispose of the argument that the California almond grower is overburdened with a top-heavy capital investment.

1991 R. Banks Sweet Hereafter ii. 59 I was a widower..with..a business that was making money but was top-heavy with debt.

2017 Investors Chron. (Nexis) 20 Sept. The online retailer's core bank debt is declining,..but that is still a top-heavy balance sheet.

Compounds

top-heavy fraction n. a fraction in which the numerator is greater than the denominator; = improper fraction.

ΚΠ

1906 Pop. Educator June 498/2 I placed on the blackboard an illustration like this:..calling it a top-heavy fraction.

2017 E. Batuman Idiot i. 71 She flipped through the pages..and handed it to me open at a lesson about turning ‘compound fractions’ like 2½ into ‘top-heavy fractions’ like ⁵/ ₂.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2022; most recently modified version published online December 2022).

单词	top-heavy
释义	top-heavyadj. Brit. /ˌtɒpˈhɛvi/, U.S. /ˈtɑpˌ(h)ɛvi/ Forms: see top n.¹ and adj. and heavy adj.¹ and n. Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: top n.¹, heavy adj.¹ Etymology: < top n.¹ + heavy adj.¹ 1. a. Disproportionately heavy at the top so as to be in danger of toppling. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > weight or relative heaviness > [adjective] > heavy > excessively > at top top-heavy?1531 the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > [adjective] > tottering > unstable > due to weight at top top-heavy?1531 ?1531 J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye ii. sig. h5 They haue made it so toppehevye, that it is surelye lyke to haue a falle. a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 38 That they make theire loades broade and longe, but not over high and toppe-heavy for feare of throwinge over..the waine. 1647 H. More Philos. Poems i. ii. lxxvii Top heavy was his head with earthly policy. 1775 T. Pickering Easy Plan Discipline for Militia Pref. 18 From which position it might, tho' so long and top-heavy, be easily kept steady. 1862 T. A. Trollope Lenten Journey xvi. 259 We were top-heavy with eight or nine great sacks of letters on the roof [of the vehicle]. 1907 J. P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld (1909) 207 Few drivers could have handled so top-heavy a load without capsizing. 1967 C. Isherwood Diary 21 Oct. in Sixties (2010) II. 477 This furniture was top-heavy and unpractical. 2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 67 It culminates in a stroll through an area of lush grass and top-heavy, cow-eyed daisies. b. colloquial. Of a woman: having a (disproportionately) large bust. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > front > breast or breasts (of woman) > [adjective] > types of milky1557 milkful1589 full-breasted1611 liberal?1624 milkless1636 busty1867 bosomful1870 pneumatic1910 bosomy1928 top-heavy1934 breasty1937 well-endowed1951 chesty1955 1934 Mansfield (Ohio) News-Jrnl. 12 Nov. 7/4 (advt.) Are you Top-heavy—and very small at the hipline? 1989 Bella 29 Apr. 33/4 Since I'm only 5ft 2in tall and I'd always been a top heavy 36C I said I'd like to be smaller. 2005 Townsville (Queensland) Bull. (Nexis) 14 July 33 The top-heavy temptress and the randy rocker checked into the Four Seasons in Maui this week. 2. slang. Drunk. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk > partially drunk merrya1382 semi-bousyc1460 pipe merry1542 totty1570 tipsy1577 martin-drunk1592 pleasant1596 mellow1611 tip-merry1612 flustered1615 lusticka1616 well to live1619 jolly1652 happy1662 hazy1673 top-heavy1687 hearty1695 half-seas-over1699 oiled1701 mellowish1703 half channelled over1709 drunkish1710 half-and-half1718 touched1722 uppisha1726 tosie1727 bosky1730 funny1751 fairish1756 cherry-merry1769 in suds1770 muddy1776 glorious1790 groggified1796 well-corned1800 fresh1804 to be mops and brooms1814 foggy1816 how-come-ye-so1816 screwy1820 off the nail1821 on (also, esp. in early use, upon) the go1821 swipey1821 muggy1822 rosy1823 snuffy1823 spreeish1825 elevated1827 up a stump1829 half-cockedc1830 tightish1830 tipsified1830 half shaved1834 screwed1837 half-shot1838 squizzed1845 drinky1846 a sheet in the wind1862 tight1868 toppy1885 tiddly1905 oiled-up1918 bonkers1943 sloshed1946 tiddled1956 hickey- 1557 tr. Erasmus Mery Dialogue sig. Cii At meate, se that al thinges be well fauored, and make good chere, And when that he is toppe heuy playing on his lute, sytte thou by and singe to him. 1687 in Duke of Buckingham's Wks. (1705) II. 120 Jack was too top-heavy to escape undiscovered. 1909 T. Beyer Life in Navy 210 After being..charged with being top heavy, Bill, who was quite a sea-lawyer, put up the following defense. 3. a. Of an organization: having too many executives, managers, or senior administrative staff compared to the number of ordinary workers. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > with too many people in senior administrative positions top-heavy1659 1659 J. Harrington Disc. Spirit of Parliaments 3 It is incident unto such an Army, let the body thereof be never so popularly affected, to be under a Monarchical Administration, or to be top-heavy in their great Officers, which will have power, whether they will or no, to oversway both the Army and the Government. 1698 R. Cox Some Thoughts on Bill Exportation Woollen Manufacturers Irel. 6 This Rome did for four hundred years, till at last their Conquests were so large that their Government grew top-heavy. 1887 Proc. Ann. Meeting W. Virginia Bar Assoc. 57 It is a very small compliment to be one of the 13 Vice Presidents of this organization, and it seems to offer a premium to the gentlemen who are officers to stay away, as they presume that the other 12 will be there, and I think it is making the Association top heavy. 1963 Listener 7 Mar. 417/1 Petty officials multiplied till the administration became top-heavy. 2012 Irish News (Nexis) 15 Aug. 6 (headline) £80m review of hospital admin ‘failed’ to axe top-heavy bureaucracy. b. Unbalanced through having some element or quality disproportionately found or positioned at the top; (more generally) having too much of one element at the expense of others; overburdened with something. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > inequality > [adjective] > unbalanced tickle1515 instable1599 untrimmeda1732 unbalanced1733 uncounterbalanced1780 bottom-heavy1819 unstable1839 out of balance1920 off-kilter1985 1850 S. Coleridge Let. 3 July in Mem. & Lett. (1873) II. 328 Critics complain of his [sc. Turner's] skies as top-heavy. I have heard a clever engraver say that some of them might be turned upside down; that they are solid enough to stand upon. 1886 R. E. Thompson Protection to Home Industry 30 It is this that has made England a top-heavy country, with an over-developed manufacturing system, and an under-developed agriculture. 1925 National Forests & Public Domain: Hearings before Subcommittee 3291 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (69th Congr., 1st Sess: Senate Doc. 347 Pt. 10) I believe that this Nation is now top-heavy with too much law. 1997 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 20 Dec. (Scene section) 5/4 The second disc, top-heavy with overproduced MOR tearjerkers, is a tour de force of insufferableness. 2021 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 25 Oct. Chopra also listed India's top-heavy batting order as one of the primary reasons behind the loss. 4. Business and Finance. Overcapitalized. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > business affairs > a business or company > [adjective] > overcapitalized top-heavy1934 1893 Financial Times 28 Apr. 2/2 The natural assumption would be that the bull account is top-heavy. 1922 Hearings before Comm. on Finance U.S. Senate Tariff Act 1921 Sched. 7 & 8 3117 These reports dispose of the argument that the California almond grower is overburdened with a top-heavy capital investment. 1991 R. Banks Sweet Hereafter ii. 59 I was a widower..with..a business that was making money but was top-heavy with debt. 2017 Investors Chron. (Nexis) 20 Sept. The online retailer's core bank debt is declining,..but that is still a top-heavy balance sheet. Compounds top-heavy fraction n. a fraction in which the numerator is greater than the denominator; = improper fraction. ΚΠ 1906 Pop. Educator June 498/2 I placed on the blackboard an illustration like this:..calling it a top-heavy fraction. 2017 E. Batuman Idiot i. 71 She flipped through the pages..and handed it to me open at a lesson about turning ‘compound fractions’ like 2½ into ‘top-heavy fractions’ like ⁵/ ₂. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2022; most recently modified version published online December 2022). < adj.?1531
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