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Glite Dictionary
to feel like a boofhead

to feel like a boofhead

9.9
To feel foolish after making a mistake
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : sentirse idiota
  • I totally felt like a boofhead when I called him by the wrong name.

Examples

  • I feel like a boofhead for forgetting her birthday!

  • After tripping over her own feet in front of the crowd, she felt like a boofhead.

  • Missing such an easy question made me feel like a boofhead.

  • After that embarrassing mistake, he really felt like a boofhead.

  • After tripping over her own feet in front of the crowd, she felt like a boofhead.

  • I totally felt like a boofhead when I called him by the wrong name.

  • Missing such an easy question made me feel like a boofhead.

Synonyms

to feel like a fool
vsto feel like a boofhead
9 6.0

To be embarrassed and silly because of something you did

is the same embarrassment but tagged as Australian slang
to feel dumb
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Informal
3 6.0

Be embarrassed and think you are foolish after making a mistake

shares the sense but is specifically Australian informal speech
to feel like a schmuck
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed about something you did

is similar but tends to be used in Australian informal contexts
to feel like a pillock
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish because of something you did

is the same idea but is chiefly Australian informal speech
to feel like a plonker
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9

Being foolish and embarrassed after making an obvious mistake

is similar but carries an Australian slang label
to feel like a total boob
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish or embarrassed because of a mistake

is the equivalent feeling expressed in Australian informal talk
to feel like a pinhead
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.1

To be foolish or embarrassed after making a mistake

matches that sense but is regionally Australian informal language
to feel like a dodo
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Informal
9.6

To think you are silly after making a mistake

expresses the same silliness but in chiefly Australian slang
to feel like a wally
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed because of something you did

shares that meaning but is presented as Australian informal speech
to feel like a gomer
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Archaic
9.9

Act or seem foolish and unable to do something in a situation

overlaps in awkwardness but is labelled as Australian slang usage
to feel like a jackoff
vsto feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9

To feel foolish and embarrassed after a careless mistake

conveys the same foolishness but in milder Australian informal phrasing

How Foolish

idiotic
  • Offensive
115 4.4
stupid
  • Offensive
∞ 1.0
to feel like a boofhead
  • Offensive
9.9
foolish
505 1.3
silly
976 1.0

Surface Forms

feel like a boofhead infinitive
felt like a boofhead past
felt like a boofhead past participle
feeling like a boofhead present participle
feels like a boofhead third person singular

Morphology

feel + like + a + boofhead

The construction 'feel like a X' is a transparent, productive pattern (feel + like + noun) that signals 'experience the state of being X', but the noun 'boofhead' is regional slang with no clear, decomposable meaning or dictionary entry. Because the overall interpretation hinges on knowing this slang noun rather than being derivable from the common constituents, a B1 learner would likely not infer 'foolish/stupid' without prior exposure.

Etymology

Feel like a boofhead comes from Australian slang; a boofhead is a playful word for a clumsy or silly person. One popular story says boof copies the soft 'bump' sound of a small accident, so a boofhead gives the image of someone who seems to have 'bumped' their head, and that's why feel like a boofhead means 'to feel foolish' after a mistake.