Topsy is a character in Uncle Tom's Cabin, the 1852 American novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that turned many readers against slavery. She is a young enslaved Black girl, treated cruelly, sharp and funny, who has never been told anything about where she came from.

TopsyTopsy is a character in Uncle Tom's Cabin是《湯姆叔叔的小屋》裡的一個角色, the 1852 American novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe，這是哈莉特．比徹．斯托1852年寫的美國小說 that turned many readers against slavery.，讓很多讀者因此反對奴隸制度。 She is a young enslaved Black girl她是一個年輕的黑人女奴, treated cruelly, sharp and funny，被殘忍對待，機靈又有趣, who has never been told anything about where she came from.，從來沒有人告訴過她，她是從哪裡來的。

When an adult asks her who made her, she answers that nobody ever made her — "I 'spect I grow'd", meaning "I think I just grew". That line became famous, and from it English got the phrase "like Topsy" or "grew like Topsy", used about something that got bigger and bigger on its own with nobody planning it: a department, a city, a pile of paperwork.

When an adult asks her who made her當有大人問她是誰創造了她, she answers that nobody ever made her，她回答說沒有人創造過她 — "I 'spect I grow'd", meaning "I think I just grew".——「I 'spect I grow'd」，意思是「我猜我就自己長大了」。 That line became famous這句話後來變得很有名, and from it English got the phrase "like Topsy" or "grew like Topsy"，英文也因此有了「like Topsy」或「grew like Topsy」這個說法, used about something that got bigger and bigger on its own with nobody planning it，用來形容某個東西自己越長越大、沒有人規劃過 : a department, a city, a pile of paperwork.：像是一個部門、一座城市、一疊文件。

Two honest warnings. First, the phrase is dated; younger speakers usually will not know it, and it is fading out of use partly because the book's picture of Black characters is now seen as a hurtful stereotype — Topsy's name is bound up with that history, so it is a phrase to recognise in older books rather than one to use yourself.

Two honest warnings.有兩個老實的提醒。 First, the phrase is dated第一，這個說法已經過時了; younger speakers usually will not know it；年輕一輩的人通常不會知道這個說法, and it is fading out of use partly because the book's picture of Black characters is now seen as a hurtful stereotype，會漸漸少用，部分原因是這本書描寫黑人角色的方式，現在被視為傷人的刻板印象 — Topsy's name is bound up with that history——Topsy這個名字跟那段歷史脫不了關係, so it is a phrase to recognise in older books rather than one to use yourself.，所以這是一個在舊書裡讀懂就好、自己不必去用的說法。

Second, in the story Topsy's point is sad, not cheerful: a child who does not know she has a mother or a birthday. The "grew and grew" reading came later and slightly misses what she was saying.

Second, in the story Topsy's point is sad, not cheerful第二，在故事裡Topsy這個角色的重點是悲傷的，不是好笑的 : a child who does not know she has a mother or a birthday.：一個不知道自己有沒有媽媽、有沒有生日的孩子。 The "grew and grew" reading「越長越大」這種解讀 came later是後來才出現的 and slightly misses what she was saying.，跟她原本想表達的意思有點出入。