Head-scratching
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Confusion. idiomatic
"[…] Milly got out of her basket to reconsider the matter. It took some deliberation and head scratching to decide the best method; […]"
- 1 Confusing, perplexing, puzzling. idiomatic
"He became for a short time delirious, in consequence of attempting to comprehend the works of Mr. Nebulous, in which the English language is exhibited casting of summersets, with many prancings to and fro, before earnest-gazing, head-scratching readers, in murkiest obscuration, marvel stricken, with maddest humour and grinning contortions, heels-over-head, wondrous!"
Example
More examples"He became for a short time delirious, in consequence of attempting to comprehend the works of Mr. Nebulous, in which the English language is exhibited casting of summersets, with many prancings to and fro, before earnest-gazing, head-scratching readers, in murkiest obscuration, marvel stricken, with maddest humour and grinning contortions, heels-over-head, wondrous!"
Etymology
head + scratching, from the fact that many people scratch the side of their head when confused.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.