like a hole in one's head

prepositional phrase

Absolutely not; used to describe how little one needs an undesirable thing or situation.

OriginYiddish װי אַ לאָך אין קאָפּ →
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Meanings

prepositional phrase

alternative like a hole in the head

  1. emphaticinformalpostpositionalAbsolutely not; used to describe how little one needs an undesirable thing or situation.

    Ford looked at him for a moment. “Fort Apache?” he asked. “Yes, Fort Apache,” said Clothier. “I need that goddamn sequence like I need a hole in my head,” grumbled Ford. “We'll shoot that whole goddamn thing over right here on the stage.”

    2012, Scott Eyman, Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford, page 470

Origin

  1. Yiddishװי אַ לאָך אין קאָפּ
  2. Englishlike a hole in one's head

Calque of Yiddish װי אַ לאָך אין קאָפּ (vi a lokh in kop).

More words from Yiddish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

like a hole in one's head. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20hole%20in%20one's%20head

MLA

“like a hole in one's head.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20hole%20in%20one's%20head. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “like a hole in one's head,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20hole%20in%20one's%20head.

Source: like a hole in one's head on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.