head over heels
1
4.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
a trompicones
- Lola feigns sympathy, taking her hand, then spins, twisting Laura's arm, flipping her head over heels!
- tumbled head over heels
- fell head over heels
Examples
-
The puppy ran head over heels as it chased after the bouncing ball.
-
Once, the ship lurched beneath my feet, sending me tumbling head over heels before I caught hold of a barrel-sized metal filing sticking up from a rivet.
Fiction book (2002) -
Borya was head over heels in love with her. "I think she was a little in love with you."
Fiction book (1993) -
But he found his way, and the next thing I knew you were both head over heels, walking into walls at the thought of each other.
-
Quinn falls to the tracks, tumbling head over heels back into the darkness.
Fiction book (1998) -
He went spinning down head over heels until he finally rammed into a young fir tree.
Fiction book (2002) -
All three Pirates are knocked backwards off their feet, rolling head over heels all the way across the deck to the wall of the poop deck.
Fiction book (2002) -
A desperate kick sent him head over heels into a flagstoned patio, where for a moment he rested, gasping for breath.
Fiction book (2002) -
She stumbled away from the dog, then fell, rolling head over heels down the bluff until her body crashed into a massive oak and lay still.
Fiction book (2002) -
When the toddler slipped on the wet floor, he tumbled head over heels.
Synonyms
19
3.3
In a way that moves with your face going in front or that shows you act quickly without thinking
7
7.2
Acting quickly without thinking about the risks
4
6.8
Done quickly and without thinking, often causing problems
1
7.3
To start something quickly without thinking about the risks
With much hurry and disorder
In a quick, thoughtless way without thinking carefully
In a mixed up, messy way
In a confused, messy way
Antonyms
How Hasty
Surface Forms
Morphology
head + over + heels
The literal constituents 'head' + 'over' + 'heels' describe an inverted physical position, but the idiomatic meaning 'very much in love' is a metaphorical extension that is not directly derivable from those words. A B1 learner who knows the individual words would most likely not infer the romantic sense without prior exposure, and many languages use different expressions for this concept, so the construction is language-specific and opaque.
Etymology
Head over heels comes from the image of someone tumbling so their head goes over their heels. That picture of falling and turning around explains why it means 'moving quickly and out of control' or 'in a mess'.