Head-scratching

Quick meaning: Head-scratching is an adjective meaning (idiomatic) Confusing, perplexing, puzzling.

Meaning

(idiomatic) Confusing, perplexing, puzzling.

More Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Confusion.

Example Sentences

[…] Milly got out of her basket to reconsider the matter. It took some deliberation and head scratching to decide the best method; […]

And yet, arresting figures suggesting a decline in early season ratings have prompted an outbreak of soul‑searching at those broadcasters and head‑scratching among analysts.

For someone who professed such deep respect for numbers, Plato certainly used some head-scratching ones in his Atlantis story. The dates don't match up even remotely with ancient history.

[O]ne morning I just started writing about how Judy met JFK in the winter of '60, and it seemed to go pretty well – better, anyway, than the false starts and head scratchings that were all I had to show thus far.

Word Forms

• head-scratchings

Synonyms for head-scratching

Depending on context, synonyms include bemusing, bewildering, bemusement, bewilderment.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include puzzly, baffling, brainteasing, puzzling, confuzzling, puzzled.

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