Performing as well as one can.at the top of one's game
informal
informal
From the beginning.
- ‘they rehearsed Act One from the top’
- ‘Would you like to start again from the top?’
- ‘The audience was right with us from the top.’
- ‘Let's take it again from the top.’
Completely; thoroughly.
‘we searched the place from top to bottom’
- ‘She cooks the family meal, cleans the house from top to bottom and completes her homework the day she receives it.’
- ‘The police cordoned off the area, declared a curfew, and searched the place from top to bottom.’
- ‘He now says he wants to review the Department from top to bottom and propose a complete overhaul.’
- ‘Cronyism is rampant from top to bottom in British public life.’
- ‘When visitors were expected, she aired the beds and cleaned the house from top to bottom, and she wrote lists.’
- ‘It needs an overhaul from top to bottom and it won't be a quick fix.’
- ‘The Government boldly decided to reform the system from top to bottom.’
- ‘According to some of the conspiracy theorists, the whole sport will soon be exposed as corrupt from top to bottom.’
- ‘The report says that the fire service needs to be changed from top to bottom and every aspect of its work needs to be reformed.’
- ‘One worker said that staff have been cleaning the department from top to bottom.’
- ‘If I do end up getting it, before I move in I'm hiring people to go in and scrub the place top to bottom.’
All over.
‘she seemed to glow from top to toe’
- ‘In fact, feet are just one of the problem areas we'll be looking at in detail, providing help and advice with a health and beauty regime that will work for you, from top to toe.’
- ‘You leave feeling as if every part of your body has been pampered - you're invigorated from top to toe.’
- ‘So, kitted out from top to toe in newly acquired and neatly pressed blue linen, I listened to her praise western civilization and the red-brick building that housed its published works.’
- ‘Three days later, Thorn was bruised from top to toe.’
- ‘Having chosen your oil, you are laid out over a series of hot stones, massaged from top to toe, and back again.’
- ‘Michael's gaze seemed desperate as he stood trembling from top to toe.’
- ‘We were absolutely filthy and covered from top to toe with red dust.’
- ‘The Russian doctors really put me through the mill, examining me from top to toe.’
- ‘This involved sitting in a heated seawater bath while jets massaged her body from top to toe.’
- ‘Dressed in black from top to toe, he felt his age in the end, though, and literally ran out of puff.’
Be too much for [someone] to bear or cope with.
‘things had got on top of me’
- ‘For almost nine years Jim lashed out at his wife, Sally, whenever things got on top of him.’
- ‘She got over it but during the last three years since then she had other physical illnesses and that seems to have got on top of her and affected her mentally.’
- ‘At the end, frustration with my game was getting on top of me.’
- ‘It said that life was getting on top of him and he could not take it any more.’
- ‘It would be surprising if any young mother had not felt ‘sad or miserable’ in the previous week, or worried that things were getting on top of her.’
- ‘Things have been getting on top of me and I just needed some time away from the blog to sort my head out a little.’
- ‘She said she thought what had happened was getting on top of her sister and she was not talking about it.’
- ‘There is so much coursework; it really gets on top of you.’
- ‘Running your own business is hard and sometimes it all gets on top of you.’
- ‘When life gets on top of you, there is always someone, somewhere, worse off than you.’
1On the highest point or uppermost surface.
‘a woollen hat with a bobble on top’
- ‘At one stage the girls jumped back into the water and actually dragged the boat for 50 yards to rocks with me on top.’
- ‘There are fewer and fewer trees up here, none on top, nothing but rock, and that makes it more attractive to lightning.’
- ‘In the middle there was a tall and slender rock with something black on top.’
- ‘The hill is fairly flat on top; in fact a Lancaster bomber once famously landed here during the Second World War.’
- ‘The bank is splendid, open, flat on top and with ace views from each slope.’
- ‘The small hall will have a flat roof with plants on top to add colour and vitality to the view of the building from the road.’
- ‘I sighed and lay flat on my stomach on top or my bed.’
- ‘Towards the back was a mahogany desk with a flat panel computer on top.’
- ‘Cover the pastry discs with baking parchment and place another flat heavy baking sheet on top.’
- ‘Sprinkle the chopped rosemary over the surface of the caramel, then slice the bananas on top.’
2In a leading or the dominant position.
‘United were on top for most of the first half’
- ‘He can't decide where he stands on the war because he's not really sure which position will put him on top.’
- ‘White men still come out on top, with London dominating the awards.’
- ‘But even if that had happened, the polls suggest that it is unlikely that the anti-war position would have come out on top.’
- ‘However, as one would expect from a team with ambitions of promotion, Athy were on top in all aspects of play and dominated Stillorgan throughout.’
- ‘This was the wake-up call for the Castledermot side and they began to dominate with Brendan Kelly and Brian Byrne coming out on top in mid-field.’
- ‘It was another low scoring game with defences on both sides dominating but it was Longford who got on top in the second quarter.’
- ‘The next 20 minutes saw Athy begin to dominate the scrums but Ross were well on top in the line-out.’
- ‘The Barrowsiders began to get on top with Willie Power and Keith Hession dominating midfield.’
- ‘The results have made little impact on the top of the table with Peter Flynn still on top with 55 pts closely followed by Paul Walsh on 51.’
- ‘It is the time to make concessions when you are on top, and we are on top.’
3In addition.
‘the price was £75, with VAT on top’
- ‘If you are in a company pension scheme you can supplement this by making AVCs [Additional Voluntary Contributions] on top.’
- ‘The Law Society is currently dealing with a raft of complaints about solicitors who charged miners an additional fee on top.’
- ‘Charities cannot afford these extra costs on top.’
- ‘However, this is rarely as comprehensive as that supplied by the NHS, so involves extra costs on top.’
- ‘As an extra sweetener, investors who plump for the cash in March will get an extra 5p per share on top.’
- ‘We estimated that an extension with a new kitchen and two extra bedrooms could be built for the stamp duty money with a little extra on top.’
- ‘But adept insurance salespeople will try and sell you all kinds of extra insurance on top.’
- ‘This means that the sessions are much cheaper, without the added accommodation costs on top, and are now open to children from families who might have been unable to spare the cash for a full visit.’
1On the highest point or uppermost surface of.
‘a town perched on top of a hill’
- ‘It can be laid on top of most surfaces, and is available in a range of colours and decorative finishes.’
- ‘Do not use a grill on top of or underneath any surface that will burn, such as a porch or carport.’
- ‘They advise matches in the kitchen not to be left on top of kitchen surfaces, but to be kept in a cupboard and for parents to regularly check their child's bedroom for matches.’
- ‘Normally, asphalt road surfaces are built on top of a bed of concrete, which is itself built atop a bed of gravel.’
- ‘Everything else had to be balanced precariously on top of surfaces.’
- ‘Finally on the way home we saw a shopping trolley perched on top of a stop sign.’
- ‘The photographers perched on top of these trucks get great shots.’
- ‘I was at the theatre recently, and at the interval I counted up to five women with sunglasses perched on top of their heads.’
- ‘He spread his papers out on top of his briefcase, perched on his knees.’
- ‘A young girl was perched on top of the mahogany wardrobe.’
- ‘Controversial plans to set up a mobile phone mast on top of a church tower are expected to be approved by councillors tomorrow despite fierce opposition.’
2In command or control of.
‘he couldn't get on top of his work’
- ‘Labour insists it has got on top of these problems.’
- ‘It's a new challenge, and it's something you can never really get on top of.’
- ‘Once I'd got on top of this job, the other priorities all seemed to slot into place.’
- ‘Work's going well, I'm getting on top of things, selling adverts on my site and keeping up to date with the paperwork, etc.’
- ‘Things get crazy at times and it becomes hard to stay on top of everything but I have a great team; they are very open and transparent.’
- ‘You really have to be on top of everything, and you can't slack on anything.’
3In addition to.
‘on top of everything else he's a brilliant linguist’
- ‘Those additional wage costs are on top of higher prices for oil, steel, copper, plastics, etc.’
- ‘He advised that this was an additional charge on top of the normal council rates.’
- ‘And you may be charged an additional fee on top of the room rates.’
- ‘It specifies a minimum level of coverage, such as medical and life cover, and offers employees optional additional benefits on top of this.’
- ‘In other words, they lost the election because they were caught lying to the public about a very, very sensitive issue, on top of everything else.’
- ‘I think the total cost will come to something like £20,000 because the whole bathroom and kitchen has to be replaced on top of everything else.’
- ‘Now he has become an inventor on top of everything else.’
- ‘Oh and my left wrist is really hurting so I'm probably developing RSI on top of everything else.’
- ‘So, on top of everything else, there seems to be a case of political hypocrisy here.’
- ‘It could vary from anything between £80 to £500 plus an annual fee on top of that.’
- ‘On top of this benefit, recent evidence suggests that eating rye bread can lower cholesterol levels too.’
4In close proximity to.
‘we all lived on top of each other’
- ‘Like most families, they wanted enough space so they wouldn't feel they were living on top of each other.’
- ‘But invite anybody else to stay over, and you will be living on top of each other.’
- ‘We city dwellers basically live on top of each other, so interactions sometimes get tense, especially when our kids may be threatened.’
- ‘People here literally live and work on top of each other.’
- ‘Since we all practically live on top of each other, I reached Glen's house in under five minutes.’
- ‘It's inevitable when you're living on top of each other for long periods at a time.’
- ‘When you live on top of a football ground, you constantly get football fans throwing chip wrappers and cans all over the place.’
- ‘Well, I've never felt less connected to my neighbors than when I lived on top of them.’
- ‘So how would you expect people to suddenly get on so well when they're living on top of each other when people in towns and villages can't get on particularly well.’
- ‘In an increasingly overcrowded world, we have the wonderful luxury of being able to spread ourselves, of not living on top of one another.’
informal
Happy and elated.
- ‘he was interested in her and she felt on top of the world’
- ‘For a short time, he felt on top of the world.’
- ‘He said he was on top of the world after clinching the World Superbike Championship days after the birth of his first child.’
- ‘Not that I want to lie and pretend I'm on top of the world, but if I could just wait a little longer perhaps I'll find something positive to write.’
- ‘We entered the gym in fear and trepidation and left feeling tired but on top of the world.’
- ‘But once upon a time, she was on top of the world, until her addictions seemed to get the better of her.’
- ‘I felt on top of the world because I felt that I had achieved what I wanted to.’
- ‘A Newry girl is on top of the world after being selected for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’
- ‘When the day in question finally arrived, I was dressed in a business suit and felt on top of the world.’
- ‘If your child gets through in the test, of course you feel on top of the world.’
- ‘Maybe it was because of the setting, but I really felt on top of the world.’
- ‘Any time you win a tournament at that age, you feel on top of the world.’
The highest level of a profession or career.
‘I got to the top of the tree as a marketing professional with United Distillers, but I always wanted to broaden my skills.’
- ‘If you do eventually want to get to the top of the tree, then do it the hard way and make sure that you learn all aspects of the business.’
- ‘These days he is not at the top of the tree, but he still enjoys playing and his ambition is to win a tournament in this decade so that he will have won titles in each of four successive decades.’
- ‘She feels that it is the constant encouragement from her parents and their ethos of always doing your best that has seen her rise to the top of the tree, not just in one sport but in three.’
- ‘A second place in Monte Carlo and fifth place in Sweden have put Britain's favourite rally ace on the top of the tree after just two rallies for his new team.’
- ‘They may help a businessman make it to the top of the tree: but there is more to good leadership than ambition and charisma.’
- ‘They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.’
- ‘His business expertise and his philanthropy should put him at the top of the tree.’
- ‘Town hall bosses say the new target will ensure more women make it to the top of the tree in future.’
- ‘I admire anybody who gets to the top of the tree, but the hardest thing is to stay there.’
As a culminating, typically unpleasant, event or action in a series.
‘her father had a fatal heart attack and to top it all her mother disowned her’
- ‘This year has been a difficult year for my family and me, but to top it all, now I am in quarantine for SARS - I cannot believe it!’
- ‘And, to top it all, the indifference shown by the government is appalling.’
- ‘And to top it all, a moratorium on debt repayments will only postpone the inevitable into the future.’
- ‘And, to top it all, the box says there is a telephone helpline - however, it fails to actually give a number.’
- ‘And to top it all, you get this terrible sneezing fit that puts you in an even bigger predicament.’
- ‘And, to top it all, they refuse to pay the fine when caught committing an offence.’
- ‘Most are very funny, but some are quite scary - and, to top it all, one night he told us he can't even swim.’
- ‘It is one of the most colorful hula shows in town and, to top it all, it is free!’
- ‘A weak story, tepid characters, a confusion of plots and, to top it all, some terrible editing make this one of the worst reads of the month.’
British
1Remove the top and bottom of [a fruit or vegetable] while preparing it as food.
‘top and tail the beans and pull away any fibrous side threads’
- ‘We already know that if we want to eat a carrot safely, we need to generously peel, top and tail it first to remove organophosphate pesticides.’
- ‘As soon as the beetroot is cool enough to handle, top and tail it and remove the skin.’
- ‘However, as he explains: a favourite way to cook young ones is to top and tail the pod, trim off the stringy edges and slice the pod very thin with the beans still in it.’
- ‘Wipe, top and tail the aubergine and cut it into eight disks.’
2Wash the face and bottom of [a baby or small child].
‘Before the umbilical cord stump drops off, you can just top and tail your baby, using a bowl of warm water, baby lotion and a soft cloth or cotton wool.’
- ‘If your baby doesn't like baths, ‘top and tail’ her on alternate days - use cotton wool and warm water for eyes and face, and a washcloth for hands and bottom.’
informal
A very high price.
- ‘I pay top dollar for my materials’
- ‘Local businesses who didn't want to pay top dollar for design firms would hold ‘logo design contests’ for my dad's students.’
- ‘It's powerful corporations that pay top dollar for receptive ears in Washington.’
- ‘If you really want to ski this winter and you don't want to pay top dollar, look for those quiet times.’
- ‘But it isn't certain they would pay him top dollar.’
- ‘But be prepared to pay top dollar to be in the number 1 position.’
- ‘A major stumbling block remains how the council can justify to the taxpayers paying top dollar for its new offices.’
- ‘Was the poor publisher supposed to pay top dollar for a team of world-class typesetters and proofreaders and then sell the thing for next to nothing?’
- ‘More companies are turning to accountants for advice on making their strategic moves, and are willing to pay top dollar to attract them.’
- ‘And this was a brilliant businesswoman paying top dollar for advice.’
- ‘Rich foreigners come from around the world and pay top dollar to locate in Manhattan, not because they have to, but because they want to.’
- ‘But O'Brien believes that companies will gladly pay top dollar for same-day delivery.’
Irish
Used as a friendly morning greeting.
‘top of the morning to you, Inspector’
- ‘The top of the morning to you.’
- ‘This guy walked by me and actually said: ‘top of the morning to you’.’
- top off
1top something off, top off somethingFinish something in a memorable or notable way.
‘the festivities were topped off with the awarding of prizes’
- ‘The celebrations of the day will be topped off with an open air dance to the music of The Conquerors, from 12-2 a.m.’
- ‘It's been a dream year and this just tops it off.’
- ‘We topped the day off by going to see ‘Minority Report’ at Greenwich Cinema.’
- ‘And finally, to top my day off, I found out that the joyless, universally disliked boss who's been off on maternity leave will be part time when she comes back at the end of April.’
- ‘And, to top things off, King has another surprise up his sleeve.’
- ‘And to top the day off, the agency I've been working for over the last two years sent out the paperwork for the contract extension.’
- ‘One our way back home we took a detour to the city and stopped by Harry's Café for a classic hotdog to top the night off.’
- ‘A black beret she had picked up in Paris topped off the outfit.’
- ‘She straightened her little denim mini-skirt, fixed the straps of her white spaghetti-strap top and then topped off her ensemble with a tan cowboy hat.’
- ‘The meal was topped off with platters of fresh fruit.’
- ‘She has recorded three solo albums, is sought-after for other releases, has her own designer brand underway, and to top it all off is engaged to be married.’
- ‘And to top it all off, you will have a genuine Spanish cultural experience.’
2top something off, top off somethingUS informal Fill up a partly full tank with fuel.
- ‘check the fluid reservoir and top it off if necessary’
- ‘Make sure the station's generator is functioning [hopefully there is one!] and make sure the fuel tank is topped off.’
- ‘Prior to the storms, all the generators had been tested at full load and all of their tanks had been topped off.’
- ‘And when you do decide to go all the way with a full tank of gas, don't bother topping it off because filling past the first ‘click’ will create sloshing and allow the gas you tried to squeeze in to spill over and out.’
- ‘Except for topping it off now and then, you'll fill the pool only once.’
- ‘Arriving back at the jet, I checked the fuel slip and noticed that it had been topped off.’
- ‘I drank a lot of wine, mostly because Phil kept topping my glass off until I wasn't sure how many glasses I had drunk.’
1Reach an upper limit.
‘collectors whose budgets tend to top out at about $50,000’
- ‘It starts at $20,395, and tops out at $24,590.’
- ‘It tops out at approximately 100 kilometres per hour and a fully charged battery will only take you 80 km.’
- ‘The price range starts at just under £18,000 and tops out at not much more than £21,000.’
- ‘This observer's only question is that given the attendance figures, which topped out at about 2,500 on Saturday, if the event was to sell out in the next year or two, how cramped would it feel inside the compound?’
- ‘It has not experienced negative growth, but its growth has been much slower - something like 1.5 percent - because its investment cycle topped out in 1997.’
- ‘But the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said house price rises have slowed sharply following recent interest rate hikes and that northern price rises have topped out.’
- ‘By night's end, the pot topped out at a mighty fine $100,000-plus for the cause.’
- ‘Earlier this month, a chair failed to sell when bidding topped out at $62,000, below a prearranged minimum.’
- ‘Jeans go for as little as $19.99 and top out at $49.99, but you can tell just by looking that they're the sort you'd buy on a whim ‘because they're so cheap!’’
- ‘High-season room rates at these hotels start between $300 and $400, and top out at $3,000 at the Peninsula.’
- ‘With wingspans topping out at nearly 8 feet, the aggressively territorial species is one of the world's biggest flying birds.’
2top something out, top out somethingPut the highest structural feature on a building, typically as a ceremony to mark the building's completion.
‘most of the staff turned out to watch the reactor being topped out’
- ‘Despite price tags that ran into the multimillions of dollars for a penthouse with views of the Santa Monica mountains, the downtown Los Angeles skyline, and the Pacific Ocean, all units were sold before the structure was topped out.’
- ‘The building's topping out ceremony was carried out on Friday by Noel Ahern TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment & Local Government.’
- ‘Building work on the New Farleigh hospice site in Broomfield reached new heights this week, with a topping out ceremony to complete the roof.’
- ‘A topping out ceremony will be held at 4.00 pm on Thursday 25 March when a time capsule will be buried on the site to mark the building reaching its highest point.’
- ‘On July 1, President Chen Shui-bin attended the topping out ceremony to see the last beam put into place.’
- ‘The construction firm worker was invited to don dancing shoes to join performers at Newcastle's Dance City for a performance at a topping out ceremony for the theatre space, which he has been helping to build.’
- ‘Congratulations and celebrations were in the air on Wednesday as Sir Cliff Richard came for the topping out ceremony at the Shooting Star Children's Hospice in Hampton.’
- ‘All eyes were on Swindon's flagship hospital for the topping out ceremony of the diagnostic and treatment centre.’
- ‘Coun. Richard Leese, who conducted the formal topping out ceremony, added: ‘We are very happy to see a name like Harvey Nichols in Manchester.’’
1top something up, top up somethingFill up a glass or other partly full container.
- ‘he topped up our glasses and filled his own’
2top something up, top up somethingmainly British Add to a number or amount to bring it up to a certain level.
‘a 0.5 per cent bonus is offered to top up savings rates’
- ‘But the government only tops it up to that level if you are on a full state pension.’
- ‘The maximum contribution each year is £3,600, which means that you pay £2,808 and the Inland Revenue tops it up by the standard tax rate of 22%.’
- ‘Mr Warren said Carter then proceeded to help herself to the building society money, topping it up from the bank account when it ran low.’
- ‘Scottish and Southern Energy's deputy chairman Ian Grant topped his holding up with a £12,680 buy.’
- ‘They raised £460,000 on their own and topped it up with a bank loan from the Bank of Scotland, but were still £40,000 short.’
- ‘Miss Foster said: ‘We are hoping to break the £10,000 barrier this year and hopefully the company might top it up but we will have to wait and see.’’
- ‘The government will top it up with 1 per cent of GDP every year between now and 2025.’
- ‘To pay for the scheme the EU would put up £500,000 and Swindon Council would top it up with £350,000.’
- ‘Jones, he said, gets disability living allowance of £155 every two weeks with a further £30 to top it up.’
- ‘Virgin Money director Gordon Maw says: ‘Child Trust Funds need to become the central focus of our savings for our children, so the key is how we encourage parents to top them up regularly.’’
Late Old English topp [noun], of Germanic origin; related to Dutch top ‘summit, crest’.
Late Old English, of unknown origin.