head over heels
Etymology

Attested from the 14th century onwards, originally as heels over head, which better rendered the notion of things being upside down (head over heels is the standard state of being).

Pronunciation
  • (America) enPR: hĕd ō'vər hēlz, IPA: /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhilz/, /ˌhɛd oʊ.vɚ ˈhi.əlz/
  • (RP) IPA: /ˌhɛd əʊ.və ˈhiːlz/
Adverb

head over heels (not comparable)

  1. Tumbling upside down; somersaulting.
    Synonyms: arse over tit, ass over teakettle, base over apex
    She tripped and rolled head over heels down the hill.
  2. At top speed; frantically.
    Synonyms: full tilt, full throttle, like mad
    Hearing the noise in the dark, the children ran head over heels back home.
  3. (usually with in love) Hopelessly; madly; to distraction; deeply; utterly.
    Synonyms: head over ears
    • 1904, Henry Huttleston Rogers, “Letter from Rogers to Clemens (Mark Twain) dated 8 February 1904”, in Mark Twain's Correspondence with Henry Huttleston Rogers, 1893–1909, University of California Press, published 1969, page 555:
      I am head over heels in trouble.
Translations Translations Translations Adjective

head over heels (not comparable)

  1. Hopelessly smitten; madly in love.
Translations


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary