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Glite Dictionary
to talking over someone's head

to talking over someone's head

8.6
Speak in a way that is too difficult for someone to understand
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : hablar por encima de alguien
  • During the complex meeting, the manager kept talking over our heads, using terms we didn't understand.

Examples

  • When talking about her desire to learn, she stated she "hates to have people being able to talk over my head."

    Academic text (1997)

  • "I was," the man said, talking over my head.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • At the lecture, the professor was talking over the students' heads instead of explaining the concepts clearly.

  • I felt lost when he started talking over my head about advanced theories in physics.

Synonyms

to talk over someone's head
vsto talking over someone's head
8.2

Say things that are too hard for someone to understand

uses complex or advanced ideas that the listener cannot understand

Antonyms

simplification
13 3.6

Making something less complicated so it is easier to understand

clarifying
1 3.3

That helps people understand something more clearly

How Complex

to talking over someone's head
  • Informal
8.6
to explain
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

talking over someone's head infinitive
talked over someone's head past
talked over someone's head past participle
talking over someone's head present participle
talks over someone's head third person singular

Morphology

talking + over + someone's + head

The phrase relies on a spatial metaphor: 'over' + 'someone's head' evokes something positioned above a person, which can be mapped onto being beyond their comprehension. This metaphorical transfer is somewhat guessable from the parts but is conventionalized and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without exposure, so it is best classified as semi-transparent.

Etymology

Talking over someone's head comes from the picture of someone talking while the words float over another person's head, so the words are out of reach. That's why it means using language that is 'too complex' and the listener 'can't understand'.