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90s Slang You Should Know

top2

[top] /tɒp/
noun
1.
a toy, often inversely conical, with a point on which it is made to spin.
Idioms
2.
sleep like a top, to sleep soundly:
After a day of hiking and swimming we slept like tops.
Origin of top2
Old English
1100
before 1100; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Frisian, dialectal Dutch top
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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British Dictionary definitions for sleep like a top

top1

/tɒp/
noun
1.
the highest or uppermost part of anything: the top of a hill
2.
the most important or successful position: to be at the top of the class, the top of the table
3.
the part of a plant that is above ground: carrot tops
4.
a thing that forms or covers the uppermost part of anything, esp a lid or cap: put the top on the saucepan
5.
the highest degree or point: at the top of his career
6.
the most important person: he's the top of this organization
7.
the best or finest part of anything: we've got the top of this year's graduates
8.
the loudest or highest pitch (esp in the phrase top of one's voice)
9.
the beginning: the top of the hour, at the top of the programme
10.
short for top gear
11.
(cards) the highest card of a suit in a player's hand
12.
(sport)
  1. a stroke that hits the ball above its centre
  2. short for topspin
13.
a platform around the head of a lower mast of a sailing vessel, the edges of which serve to extend the topmast shrouds
14.
(chem) the part of a volatile liquid mixture that distils first
15.
a garment, esp for a woman, that extends from the shoulders to the waist or hips
16.
  1. the high-frequency content of an audio signal
  2. (as modifier): this amplifier has a good top response
17.
(informal) blow one's top, to lose one's temper
18.
on top of
  1. in addition to: on top of his accident, he caught pneumonia
  2. (informal) in complete control of (a difficult situation, job, etc)
19.
off the top of one's head, with no previous preparation; extempore
20.
over the top
  1. over the parapet or leading edge of a trench
  2. over the limit; excessive(ly); lacking restraint or a sense of proportion
21.
the top of the morning, a morning greeting regarded as characteristic of Irishmen
adjective
22.
of, relating to, serving as, or situated on the top: the top book in a pile
23.
(Brit, informal) excellent: a top night out
verb (mainly transitive) tops, topping, topped
24.
to form a top on (something): to top a cake with whipped cream
25.
to remove the top of or from: to top carrots
26.
to reach or pass the top of: we topped the mountain
27.
to be at the top of: he tops the team
28.
to exceed or surpass
29.
(slang) to kill
30.
(also intransitive) (sport)
  1. to hit (a ball) above the centre
  2. to make (a stroke) by hitting the ball in this way
31.
(chem) to distil off (the most volatile part) from a liquid mixture
32.
to add other colorants to (a dye) in order to modify the shade produced
33.
top and tail
  1. to trim off the ends of (fruit or vegetables) before cooking them
  2. to wash a baby's face and bottom without immersion in a bath
See also top off, top out, tops, top up
Word Origin
Old English topp; related to Old High German zopf plait, Old Norse toppr tuft

top2

/tɒp/
noun
1.
a toy that is spun on its pointed base by a flick of the fingers, by pushing a handle at the top up and down, etc
2.
anything that spins or whirls around
3.
sleep like a top, to sleep very soundly
Word Origin
Old English, of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for sleep like a top

top

n.

"highest point," Old English top "summit, crest, tuft," from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (cf. Old Norse toppr "tuft of hair," Old Frisian top "tuft," Old Dutch topp, Dutch top, Old High German zopf "end, tip, tuft of hair," German Zopf "tuft of hair"); no certain connections outside Germanic except a few Romanic words probably borrowed from Germanic.

Few Indo-European languages have a word so generic, which can be used of the upper part or surface of just about anything. More typical is German, which has Spitze for sharp peaks (mountains), oberfläche for the upper surface of flat things (such as a table). Top dog first attested 1900; top-drawer (1920) is from British expression out of the top drawer "upper-class."

"toy that spins on a point," late Old English top, probably a special use of top (n.1), but the modern word is perhaps via Old French topet, which is from a Germanic source akin to the root of English top (n.1). As a type of seashell, first recorded 1680s.

v.

"put a top on," 1580s, from top (n.1). The meaning "be higher or greater than" also is first recorded 1580s. Related: Topped; topping. To top off "finish" is colloquial from 1836;

top

n.2

"toy that spins on a point," late Old English top, probably a special use of top (n.1), but the modern word is perhaps via Old French topet, which is from a Germanic source akin to the root of English top (n.1). As a type of seashell, first recorded 1680s.

top

v.

"put a top on," 1580s, from top (n.1). The meaning "be higher or greater than" also is first recorded 1580s. Related: Topped; topping. To top off "finish" is colloquial from 1836;

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for sleep like a top

sleep like a top

verb phrase

To sleep very soundly

[1693+; fr the stasis of a spinning top]

top

modifier

: He got the top recommendation (1714+)

noun

  1. top sergeant (WWI Army)
  2. The best; most superior: You're the top, you're the Louvre Museum (1593+)

verb

  1. To hang someone: A colleague sent to the gallows has been topped (1718+)
  2. To kill; BUMP someone OFF, hit (1930s+)
  3. To surpass; better; cap: I'll top that story with one of my own (1586+)
  4. To be executed for a capital crime (1960s+ Black)

Related Terms

blow one's top, chopped top, come out ahead, from the top, go something or someone one better, muttonhead, off the top, on top of, pop-top, ragtop, tip-top

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source
Idioms and Phrases with sleep like a top

top

also see:
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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7
9
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