definitions

can't make head or tail of

Also can't make heads or tails of. Fail to understand, be quite confused about, as in I can't make head or tail of these directions. A version of this term dates back to Roman times, when Cicero wrote Ne caput nec pedes (“neither head nor feet”) to describe confusion. In the current idiom the precise allusion is unclear: head and tail may mean top and bottom, beginning and end, or the two sides of a coin. [Second half of 1600s]

RELATED CONTENT

orRead more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
What’s It Called When You Can “Taste” A Word Or “See” A Sound?Is it possible to see a taste? Or taste a word? The answer is yes, sort of. So, what is that condition called?
READ MORE

Nearby words

can't fight city hall, can't help, can't hit the broad side of a barn, can't hold a candle to, can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, can't make head or tail of, can't punch one's way out of a paper bag, can't see beyond the end of one's nose., can't see the forest for the trees, can't seem to, can't stand
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.