topsy-turvied / scattered

Share on Facebook

	Abil  #537239  Sun, 06 Jul 08 06:39 AM The police broke into the house and topsy-turvied / scattered everything in the name of search. Is "topsy-turvied or scattered" correct here? Is there any other word that can replace either of them?    Abil Joined on Wed, Jun 11 2008 Regular Member (739)
Select Tags... SaveCancel phrase

	Vorpar  #537258  Sun, 06 Jul 08 07:16 AM Use scattered. I've never heard topsy-turvy used as a verb. "tore the place apart" in the name...doesn't seem to fit: "The police broke into the house and tore the place apart in their search."    Vorpar Joined on Tue, Sep 20 2005 Santa Barbara, CA Regular Member (812)
Verbs

	Abil  #537284  Sun, 06 Jul 08 08:29 AM "Tore the place apart" sounds pretty good. I wanted to used "in the name of" as a way of denouncing the search. Thanks Vorpar    Abil

	Vorpar  #537290  Sun, 06 Jul 08 08:57 AM Certainly. The search sounds bad as it is if they left the house a complete mess. You can add details if it was an illegal search. "The police, (acting without a warrant/without probable cause)..."    Vorpar

	Abil  #537312  Sun, 06 Jul 08 09:47 AM Can I say "The police, acting without a warrant/without probable cause, broke into the house and tore the rooms apart in their search for firearms."? After the search, they left the house a complete mess. Thanks    Abil

	optilang  #537314  Sun, 06 Jul 08 09:54 AM Abil The police broke into the house and topsy-turvied / scattered everything in the name of search. Is "topsy-turvied or scattered" correct here? Is there any other word that can replace either of them? I would use - turned the place upside down.    optilang Joined on Tue, May 13 2008 Poland Senior Member (2,175) OptiNative British English Speaker Wherever I may roam, I'm still a Londoner.

	Abil  #537318  Sun, 06 Jul 08 10:11 AM "Turn the place upside down". That also seems to fit in with what I intended to say. Thanks Optilang.    Abil

	Marius Hancu  #537338  Sun, 06 Jul 08 10:58 AM  topsy-turvy can be a verb (not that I've heard about it until now): ---    Function: transitive verb  : to turn or make topsy-turvy <make in places the order of sedimentation a topsy-turvied sequence -- W.E.Swinton>  http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com --  http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22topsy-turvied+the%22&btnG=Search+Books 48 on "topsy-turvied the"      Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Montreal, Canada Veteran Member (11,673)
Verbs

	Abil  #537363  Sun, 06 Jul 08 12:02 PM Only 48 hits suggest that it is still limited in use.    Abil