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

Listen to Yeat for the first time and you may end up bewildered, with a splitting headache and the nihilistic view that modern hit music as we know it is ruined.

From Los Angeles Times

The darkness rolled out as it had rolled in, leaving a splitting headache and sore muscles in its wake.

From Literature

As I sipped, I considered the various mediocre-ritas I’ve encountered — the too-diluted, the cloying, those dragged down by the lemon Pledge flavor of bad sour mix or Splitting Headache brand tequila.

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Times