English

Alternative forms

• head-scratcher

Noun

head scratcher ‎(plural head scratchers)

1. A device used to scratch the head.

   • 2004, Kelley Hays-Gilpin - Ambiguous Images: Gender and Rock Art (ISBN number 0759100659) page 133.

   Her aunt's husband or her grandfather brings a head scratcher. "If the maid scratched her hair or body with her fingers during these days of observance, her hair would fall out."

2. (idiomatic) A particularly puzzling or confusing event.
   • December 2007, W:Daily News Tribune - Golden Globes nominations a head-scratcher
   • July 2002, Fox News - Attorney: Williams' Kids Near Compromise About Father's Remains

   "A judge will decide what is the most logical, although I'm sure to some judges [freezing the body] will seem like science fiction and a wild scheme," McDonald said. "Other judges make think this is a good thing. It will be a head scratcher for the judge."

Related terms

• scratch one's head