splitting headache

American  

[split-ing hed-eyk] / ˈsplɪt ɪŋ ˈhɛdˌeɪk /

noun

1. a severe pain felt in the head; an extremely bad headache.

   A few days into the low-carb diet I started to get a splitting headache.

   Unless you want a splitting headache, do not listen to the first track on the album.

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Etymology

Origin of splitting headache

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Sometimes I play a scene with a splitting headache and people don't even know, but I know, so that makes some sense.

From Salon • Dec. 20, 2024

Both complained of a splitting headache and fever that didn’t respond to the anti-malaria treatment.

From Washington Times • Feb. 9, 2023

In November 2020, Paulo Aguirre went to a Providence hospital in Orange County, Calif., with a splitting headache, blurred vision and nausea.

From New York Times • Sep. 24, 2022

There was no warning of what was to come in March 2015, other than the splitting headache she woke up with.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2022

Down in the arts wing, Mrs. Peters, nursing her extra-large thermos and a splitting headache, began to fidget.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng