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make heads or tails of



Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He wanted to take a crack at writing like artists like Billie Eilish, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026

The iPhone Clean Up tool did OK with the grass, but couldn’t make heads or tails of the tents in the background.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

In practice, this translates to there being a whole lot of monkeys together at once, a nightmare for any dilettante trying to make heads or tails of what is going on.

From Scientific American • Jun. 12, 2018

The guidelines are so broad, in fact, that many have rightly pointed out that it’s hard to make heads or tails of them.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2017

“I can’t make heads or tails of it,” said Bronwyn.

From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs