Meanings
plural head-scratchers · alternative head scratcher · alternative headscratcher
- figurativelyinformalSomething particularly puzzling or confusing.
Golden Globes nominations a head-scratcher
2007 December 28, “Golden Globes nominations a head-scratcher”, in Daily News Tribune2 more examples
"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."
2002 July 28, “Attorney: Williams' Kids Near Compromise About Father's Remains”, in Fox NewsAs nice as it is, the current American taste for that place (where Ellen DeGeneres lives) [Cotswolds] is a head-scratcher.
2025 August 23, Janan Ganesh, “How English costs the English”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 19Synonyms: poser, stumper, nutcracker
- literallyA device used to scratch the head.
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."
2004, Kelley Hays-Gilpin, Ambiguous Images: Gender and Rock Art, →ISBN, page 133
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomething particularly puzzling or confusing.
Origin
From head + scratcher. Literal sense from 1873, figurative from 1971.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
head-scratcher. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head-scratcher
“head-scratcher.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head-scratcher. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “head-scratcher,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head-scratcher.
Source: head-scratcher on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.