bad hair day

noun

1. a disagreeable or unpleasant day, especially one during which one feels unattractive.

bad hair day

noun

1. a day on which one's hair is untidy and unmanageable

2. a day of mishaps and general irritation

Word History and Origins

Origin of bad hair day¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Idioms and Phrases

A day when one's appearance, especially one's hair, does not look attractive. For example, What have I done to upset Martha? Nothing, she's just having a bad hair day. Originating as a humorous statement, this term was soon broadened to mean simply having a bad day, that is, a day when everything seems to go wrong. [Late 1980s] Also see not one's day.