IdiomDaily LifeEnglish

make heads or tails of something

Meaning: To understand something.

Example: “I can't make heads or tails of these assembly instructions.”

Equivalents in other languages

Origin: Probably from coin tossing, where one needs to see which side is heads and which tails; or simply from telling the front of an animal from its back. The phrase is found from the 17th century, almost always in the negative.

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