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
“You cannot make heads or tails of it,” says Fernando Sacoto, president of the Ecuadorian Society of Public Health.
From Scientific American • Jun. 10, 2022
I couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was saying, and, looking around the room, I didn’t appear to be alone.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2019
“I recognized the sound more than anything, Reshi. Its phrasing was very old, archaic. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
