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 read Hitler’s secret orders but can’t make heads or tails of these five words from my mum.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
