ENGLISH
REFERENCE

make head or tail of

idiom
Meaning

To understand even minimally.


Examples
SIMPLE

I cannot make head or tail of these instructions.

CONTEXTUAL

The handwriting on the old map was so messy that I could not make head or tail of the directions.

COMPLEX

Despite reading the complex legal document several times, the student could not make head or tail of the convoluted clauses regarding the property transfer.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bang one's head against a brick wall

    To waste effort on a futile project.

  2. 02

    bash someone's head

    To beat up someone violently.

  3. 03

    big head

    An inflated ego, an exaggerated belief in one's own importance.

  4. 04

    bite someone's head off

    To severely berate someone.

  5. 05

    blow someone's head off

    To shoot someone in the head.

  6. 06

    bury one's head in the sand

    To deliberately ignore the reality of a situation; to pretend a problem does not exist.

  7. 07

    cannot make it

    Cannot reach satisfactory or expected standards or do something competently; describes someone in a hopeless situation.

  8. 08

    chase one's tail

    To busily try to perform many tasks or to repeatedly revise one's plans, especially with inefficient use of one's time and limited results.

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