top
blow your top lose your temper.
☞ Two chiefly North American variants are blow your lid and blow your stack.
from top to bottom completely; thoroughly.
from top to toe: see from head to toe athead.
from the top from the beginning. informal
2005Bob's Yer Uncle It was about putting yourself on the line, making new choices, trying new things, and feeling safe enough to fall flat on your face, say that didn't work, and then try it again from the top.
get on top of
1 gain control of.
2 be too much for (someone) to bear or cope with.
❶ 2013New Zealand Herald My New Year's resolution was to really get on top of my financial affairs.
off the top of your head: seehead.
on top of the world happy and elated. informal
over the top to an excessive or exaggerated degree, in particular so as to go beyond reasonable or acceptable limits.
☞ The phrase go over the top originated in the First World War, when it referred to troops in the trenches charging over the parapets to attack the enemy. In modern use over the top is often abbreviated to OTT.
room at the top: seeroom.
thin on top: seethin.
top and tail
1 remove the top and bottom of a fruit or vegetable while preparing it as food.
2 wash the face and bottom of a baby or small child. British informal
top banana: seebanana.
top the bill: seebill.
top dollar a very high price. North American informal
2000Ralph Klein has invested millions in building a non-conformist image…an image that has enabled the company to charge top dollar.
top drawer the highest level of society
1977Colleen McCulloughThe Thorn Birds Quite respectable, socially admissible, but not top drawer. Never top drawer.
top gun: seegun.
top hole used, often as an exclamation, to indicate enthusiastic approbation or approval. British informal dated
the top of the tree the highest level of a profession or career.
top whack: seewhack.
to top (or cap) it all as a culminating, typically unpleasant, event or action in a series.
up top in the brain (with reference to intelligence). British informal