Idioms

bang/knock your/their heads together

1. (informal) to force people to stop arguing and behave in a sensible way强行制止人们争吵并使之恢复理智Topics Opinion and argumentc2

be banging, etc. your head against a brick wall

1. (informal) to keep trying to do something that will never be successful用头撞墙；徒劳无益；枉费心机
   • Trying to reason with them was like banging my head against a brick wall.试图和他们讲道理只是白费口舌。
   Topics Difficulty and failurec2

be/stand head and shoulders above somebody/something

1. to be much better than other people or things比其他人（或事物）好得多；出类拔萃；鹤立鸡群
   • His performance stood head and shoulders above the rest.他的表现远远超过其他人。

bite/snap somebody’s head off

1. (informal) to shout at somebody in an angry way, especially without reason气愤地对某人大喊大叫；（尤指毫无道理地）呵斥某人

bring something to a head | come to a head

1. if you bring a situation to a head or if a situation comes to a head, you are forced to deal with it quickly because it suddenly becomes very bad（使）事情达到紧要关头，需要当机立断
   • The chairman's resignation finally brought matters to a head.主席的辞职最终使事情到了紧要关头。
   • The dispute finally came to a head in March that year.这场争论最终在当年三月达到了白热化阶段。
   • Things came to a head when several of the nurses made a formal complaint.一些护士正式投诉后，事情到了非处理不可的地步了。

bury/hide your head in the sand

1. to refuse to admit that a problem exists or refuse to deal with it采取鸵鸟政策；不正视现实；回避问题

can’t make head nor/or tail of something

1. to be unable to understand something不理解某事；不明白某事
   • I couldn't make head nor tail of what he was saying.我弄不懂他在说些什么。

do somebody’s head in

1. (British English, informal) to make somebody feel confused, upset and/or annoyed使某人困惑（或烦恼、生气）
   • Shut up! You're doing my head in.闭嘴！你让我烦死了。
   Topics Personal qualitiesc2

do something standing on your head

1. (informal) to be able to do something very easily and without having to think too much做某事不费吹灰之力

drum something into somebody’s head

(also drum something into somebody)

1. to make somebody remember something by repeating it a lot of times向某人反复灌输；对某人反复讲述

from head to foot/toe

1. covering your whole body从头到脚；遍布全身
   • We were covered from head to foot in mud.我们浑身是泥。
   • She was dressed from head to toe in red.她从头到脚都是红色的。

get your head down (informal)

1. (British English) to sleep睡；睡眠
   • I managed to get my head down for an hour.我将就着睡了一小时。
2. (also keep your head down)
   to avoid attracting attention to yourself避免引起注意；保持低姿态

get your head round something

1. (British English, informal) to be able to understand or accept something能够理解；接受得了
   • She's dead. I can't get my head round it yet.她死了。我仍然无法相信这事。

get it into your head (that…)

1. to start to understand or think something能够理解；有…想法
   • When will you get it into your head that I don't want to discuss this any more!你何时才能明白我不想再谈论这件事了！
   • For some reason she's got it into her head that I don't like her.不知什么原因，她觉得我不喜欢她。

give somebody their head

1. to allow somebody to do what they want without trying to stop them让某人随心所欲

give somebody ideas | put ideas into somebody’s head

1. to give somebody hopes about something that may not be possible or likely; to make somebody act or think in an unreasonable way使某人抱有空想（或做不切实际的事）
   • Who's been putting ideas into his head?是谁一直在让他想入非非的？

go head to head (with somebody)

1. to deal with somebody in a very direct and determined way（与某人）面对面直接谈判
   • The company will be going head to head with the giant of the pharmaceuticals market.该公司将与医药市场巨头正面交锋。

go to somebody’s head

1. (of alcohol) to make you feel drunk上头；使醉
   • That glass of wine has gone straight to my head.那杯酒一下子就把我弄得头晕脑涨。
2. (of success, praise, etc.) to make you feel too proud of yourself in a way that other people find annoying使人过于骄傲；冲昏头脑

have eyes in the back of your head

1. to be aware of everything that is happening around you, even things that seem difficult or impossible to see脑后长眼；眼光敏锐；什么都能觉察到
   • You can’t get away with anything in her class. She has eyes in the back of her head.在她的课堂上你无法逃脱任何惩罚。她的后脑勺长着眼睛。

have a good head on your shoulders

1. to be a sensible person头脑清醒；理智

have a head for something

1. to be good at something擅长某事
   • to have a head for figures/business长于算术；有生意头脑
2. if somebody does not have a head for heights, they feel nervous and think they are going to fall when they look down from a high place不惧（高）；无恐（高）症

have your head/nose in a book

1. to be reading埋头读书
   • She always has her nose in a book.她总是在埋头读书。

have your head in the clouds

1. to be thinking about something that is not connected with what you are doing心不在焉；走神
2. to have ideas, plans, etc. that are not realistic有不切实际的想法（或计划等）；想入非非

have your head screwed on (the right way)

1. (informal) to be a sensible person头脑清醒；理智

have a roof over your head

1. to have somewhere to live有栖身之所
   • Thanks to Bob’s generosity, I still have a roof over my head.感谢鲍勃的慷慨，我仍然有栖身之所。

a/per head

1. for each person每人的；人均的
   • The meal worked out at $20 a head.这一餐算下来每人 20 美元。
   Topics Moneyc1

head first

1. moving forwards or downwards with your head in front of the rest of your body头在前；头朝下
   • He fell head first down the stairs.他倒栽葱摔下楼梯。
2. without thinking carefully about something before acting未经深思；轻率；鲁莽 synonym headlong
   • She got divorced and rushed head first into another marriage.她离婚后又仓促再婚了。

your head is spinning | make your head spin

1. your head feels as though it is going round and round and you cannot balance, especially because you are ill or confused or have had a shock; to make you feel like this（使）头晕
   • Her head was spinning from the pain.她因疼痛而头晕目眩。
   • His theories on economics are enough to make your head spin.他的经济学理论足以让你头晕目眩。

head over heels in love

1. loving somebody very much深深爱着某人；迷恋
   • He's fallen head over heels in love with his boss.他深深迷恋上了他的上司。
   Topics Feelingsc2

heads or tails?

1. used to ask somebody which side of a coin they think will be facing upwards when it is tossed in order to decide something by chance（掷硬币作决定时说）正面还是反面

heads will roll (for something)

1. (informal, usually humorous) used to say that some people will be punished because of something that has happened有些人将（为某事）受到惩罚

hit the nail on the head

1. to say something that is exactly right说到点子上；正中要害

hold/put a gun to somebody’s head

1. to force somebody to do something that they do not want to do, by making threats威胁某人；胁迫某人就范

hold your head high | hold up your head

1. to be proud of or not feel ashamed about something that you have done昂首挺胸；抬起头来
   • She managed to hold her head high and ignore what people were saying.她勉力昂首挺胸，不理会人家的闲言碎语。

I’ll knock your block/head off!

1. (informal) used to threaten somebody that you will hit them（威胁要打人）我非揍你不可，我要揍扁你

in over your head

1. involved in something that is too difficult for you to deal with卷入棘手的事
   • After a week in the new job, I soon realized that I was in over my head.新工作刚做了一个星期，我便意识到自己做不了。

keep your head | keep a clear/cool head

1. to remain calm in a difficult situation（在困境中）保持冷静
   • She needed to keep a clear head if she was to remain in control.她要想继续控制局势就必须保持清醒的头脑。

keep your head above water

1. to deal with a difficult situation, especially one in which you have financial problems, and just manage to survive勉强逃脱困境；设法不举债；挣扎求存
   • I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be able to keep our heads above water.我不确定我们还能坚持多久。

keep/get your head down

1. to avoid attracting attention to yourself避免引起注意；保持低姿态
   • If I were you, I’d keep your head down for a couple of weeks.如果我是你，我会低着头几周。

laugh your head off

1. (informal) to laugh very loudly and for a long time大笑不止；狂笑不已

laugh, scream, etc. your head off

1. (informal) to laugh, etc. a lot and very loudly大笑（或大叫等）

let your heart rule your head

1. to act according to what you feel rather than to what you think is sensible感情用事

like a bear with a sore head

1. in a bad mood; in an angry way没好气；脾气差
   • I should keep out of his way. He’s like a bear with a sore head this morning.我应该远离他。今天早上他就像一头头疼的熊。

lose your head

1. to become unable to act in a calm or sensible way慌乱；昏了头；失去理智

mess with somebody's head

1. (informal) to make somebody feel annoyed, anxious or upset使某人感到恼火、焦虑或不安
   • When they spend all this time on social media, they are seeing things that mess with their heads.当他们把所有时间都花在社交媒体上时，他们会看到一些让他们头脑混乱的事情。

need (to have) your head examined

1. (informal) to be crazy发疯

not bother yourself/your head with/about something

1. (especially British English) to not spend time/effort on something, because it is not important or you are not interested in it不为某事花费时间（或精力）；不操心

not harm/touch a hair of somebody’s head

1. to not hurt somebody physically in any way不动某人一根头发；丝毫不伤害某人

off the top of your head

1. (informal) just guessing or using your memory, without taking time to think carefully or check the facts单凭猜测（或记忆）；信口地；不假思索地
   • I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but I can look it up for you.我一时想不起这个名字，不过我可以给你查一查。
   Topics Doubt, guessing and certaintyc2

(have) an old head on young shoulders

1. used to describe a young person who acts in a more sensible way than you would expect for a person of their age年轻老练；少年老成

on your (own) head be it

1. used to tell somebody that they will have to accept any unpleasant results of something that they decide to do你（自己）必须承担任何后果
   • Tell him the truth if you want to, but on your own head be it!你想把真相告诉他就告诉他吧，但后果自负！

out of/off your head (British English, informal)

1. crazy发疯；疯狂
2. not knowing what you are saying or doing because of the effects of alcohol or drugs（酒后或使用药物后）胡言乱语，行为乖张，神志不清

over somebody’s head

1. too difficult or complicated for somebody to understand超过某人理解力；过于复杂
   • A lot of the jokes went (= were) right over my head.那些笑话有很多我完全听不懂。
2. to a higher position of authority than somebody职位比某人高；超过某人
   • I couldn't help feeling jealous when she was promoted over my head.她受到提拔职位超过了我，我不由得感到嫉妒。
   • I’m not happy that you went over my head to ask for this time off.你越过我向上级请假，我很不满。

a price on somebody’s head

1. an amount of money that is offered for capturing or killing somebody缉拿（或杀害）某人的悬赏金
   • Ever since he killed the gang’s leader, there has been a price on his head.自从他杀死了帮派头目之后，他的人头就被悬赏了。

put/lay your head/neck on the block

1. to risk losing your job, damaging your reputation, etc. by doing or saying something冒（失业、损失名誉等）的险
   • It's not a matter that I'm prepared to put my head on the block for.我不准备为这件事冒险。

put our/your/their heads together

1. to think about or discuss something as a group集体思考（或讨论）；集思广益

something rears its (ugly) head

1. if something unpleasant rears its head or rears its ugly head, it appears or happens（讨厌的事情）出现，发生

ring in your ears/head

1. to make you feel that you can still hear something在耳边回响
   • His warning was still ringing in my ears.他的警告依然在我耳边回响。

scratch your head (over something)

1. to think hard in order to find an answer to something苦苦琢磨；苦思冥想；绞尽脑汁
   • Experts have been scratching their heads over the increase in teenage crime.专家们一直对青少年犯罪率的上升感到摸不着头脑。

stand/turn something on its head

1. to make people think about something in a completely different way使人完全改变思路；使人从反面思考

stick in your head/mind

1. (of a memory, an image, etc.) to be remembered for a long time经久不忘；铭记在心
   • One of his paintings in particular sticks in my mind.他有一幅画我记得特别清楚。

take it into your head that…

1. to suddenly start thinking something, especially something that other people think is stupid突发奇想；突然开始想某事

take it into your head to do something

1. to suddenly decide to do something, especially something that other people think is stupid突发奇想；心血来潮

a thick head

1. (informal) a physical condition in which your head is painful or you cannot think clearly as a result of an illness or of drinking too much alcohol（由于疾病或饮酒过量）晕头涨脑，稀里糊涂
   • You’re going to have a thick head in the morning!早上你的头会很厚！

turn somebody’s head

1. (of success, praise, etc.) to make a person feel too proud in a way that other people find annoying使某人得意忘形

two heads are better than one

1. (saying) used to say that two people can achieve more than one person working alone两人智慧胜一人Topics Successc2

use your head

(British English also use your loaf)

1. (informal) used to tell somebody to think about something, especially when they have asked for your opinion or said something stupid你动动脑子；你仔细想想
   • ‘Why don't you want to see him again?’ ‘Oh, use your head!’“你为什么不愿再见到他？”“唔，你好好想想吧！”