arsy-versy
/ (ˈɑːsɪˈvɜːsɪ) /
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adverb slang
backwards or upside down
in reverse
QUIZ
QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!
Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.
Question 1 of 7
“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.
Word Origin for arsy-versy
C16: from arse + Latin versus turned, modelled on compounds like hurly-burly
Words nearby arsy-versy
arsonist, arsphenamine, ars poetica, arsy, arsy-varsy, arsy-versy, art, artal, Artaud, Artaxerxes I, Artaxerxes II
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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How to use arsy-versy in a sentence
One may reflect, for example, upon the way the woman's suffrage contro- versy has been conducted.
The Unexpurgated Case Against Women Suffrage|Almroth E. WrightProb'ly they're center-fire ca'tridges for rim-fire guns, or vicy-versy.
The Wilderness Trail|Frank WilliamsIt ain't no longer to be endured, this shilly-shally, visy-versy politicks of yourn.
Quodlibet|John P. Kennedy