Englishhead over heels in love
Meaning: Very much in love; uncontrollably in love.
Example: “They met on a train and were head over heels in love within a week.”
Origin: Originally the opposite way around: "heels over head" is on record from the 1300s, describing a literal somersault or cartwheel — heels flung up above where the head normally is, the obviously upside-down state. During the 1700s the phrase flipped to "head over heels," which, taken completely literally, describes the ordinary, right-side-up way a body is arranged the rest of the time; the wording no longer makes logical sense on its own; but as the wording flipped, the meaning had already shifted with it, from "upside down" to "totally, completely," which is what carried through into the 1800s pairing with "in love" — someone so overtaken by the feeling that they might as well have been tumbled head over heels by it.
More English idioms
- it's no skin off someone's nose It has no effect on someone or it is of no concern to someone.
- keep one's head above water To just barely manage, especially financially or with one's workload.
- keep one's nose to the grindstone To work hard without rest.
- knee-high to a grasshopper Very young.
- laugh all the way to the bank To be proved right or successful in the face of scorn, particularly as regards money.
- lead someone around by the nose To dominate someone; to force someone to do something.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring