Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have one's head read

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.33 in modern English

Syllables: have one's -head- read
IPA

27

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To have the bumps, indentations, and shape of one's skull examined and interpreted by a phrenologist.

Dated

verb

To have one's mental health assessed, to receive a psychiatric examination.

Example Sentences

"He told the police that he went to a couple of "phrenologists" to have his head read with the idea of getting rid of the pain in his stomach."
"In the summer of 1849, Walt Whitman walked into an office on Nassau Street in Manhattan to have his head read. Lorenzo Niles Fowler, a phrenologist, palpated 35 areas on both sides of the skull corresponding to emotional or intellectual capacities in the brain."
""A guy who thinks he gets smart in this horse-race game oughta have his head read.""
"She is not crazy so don't tell me to take her to a doctor to have her head read."
"Mr Gibbs says those who think Mr Obama is like George W Bush need to “have their heads read”."

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

has one's head read (present, singular) having one's head read (participle, present) had one's head read (participle, past) had one's head read (past)

Phrases

read someone's mind

Frequently Paired Words

read someone's mind

Synonyms

have one's head examined

Questions

What does have one's head read mean?: To have the bumps, indentations, and shape of one's skull examined and interpreted by a phrenologist.

How to pronounce have one's head read

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