bad hair day

American

noun

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

bad hair day British

noun

a day on which one's hair is untidy and unmanageable
a day of mishaps and general irritation

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bad hair day Idioms

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.

Etymology

Origin of bad hair day

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One reveller had a very creative solution to their bad hair day.

From BBC • Jun. 26, 2017

But then again, these Top 40 misfits — proud representatives of the swing state of Ohio — might simply have been having a bad hair day.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2016

The time seems right for a really bad hair day.

From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2015

We miss the note, we have the bad hair day.

From Salon • Jan. 7, 2015

Now Vital Theater Company is bringing their adventures to the stage in this new musical by Sammy Buck and Daniel S. Acquisto, which centers on a wad of gum and a really bad hair day.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023