top-heavy

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See also: topheavy

English

Adjective

top-heavy (comparative more top-heavy, superlative most top-heavy)

  1. having a high centre of gravity, and liable to topple
  2. (of an organization) having an excessive number of administrators or managers
  3. (of a retirement plan) Having a significant portion of the plan assets allocated to key employees to the detriment of lower-wage employees.
    • 2017 September 10, IRS, “4.72.5 Top-Heavy Plans”, in Internal Revenue Service‎:
      A defined benefit plan is top-heavy if […] the present value of the accrued benefits (PVAB) under the plan for the key employees exceeds 60 percent of the PVAB under the plan for all employees.
  4. (of a person, typically a woman) having a disproportionately large upper body, especially the bust
    • 1941, “Fashion”, in Good Housekeeping, volume 112, page 52:
      "My figure is topheavy, and I always thought a woman with a large bust had to look mature. Now I know better." An all-in-one girdle is a lifesaver for women like Miss B.
    • 1970, John McIntosh, The Stonefish, page 112:
      The top-heavy woman finished her whisky. She left fatty finger marks on the glass.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:top-heavy.
  5. (slang) Drunk.
    • 1886, “A field-day among the city guardians”, in Punch, volume 90, page 61:
      He who confines his drink to the same level as that of the poor unreasoning soul-less animals, who never take too much and are never “top-heavy,” cannot avoid irritation.

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Translations

References

  • John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary
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