as in mystery
something hard to understand or explain
why he chose to sink all of his money into a failing business is a real head-scratcher
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Recent Examples of head-scratcher
On the other end of that draft night head-scratcher was Atlanta, one of several teams hungry to capitalize on a talent shortage in the East.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 July 2025
The real head-scratcher came Wednesday night when New Orleans traded up from No. 23 to No. 13 with the Atlanta Hawks to take Maryland big man Derik Queen — and gave up a 2026 unprotected first-round pick in the process.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 26 June 2025
One of the dumbest Marmol decisions in a career full of head-scratchers.
—Katie Woo, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Eagles' decision to move on from CJ Gardner-Johnson at the start of the offseason was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time.
—Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for head-scratcher
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 July 2025
The real head-scratcher came Wednesday night when New Orleans traded up from No. 23 to No. 13 with the Atlanta Hawks to take Maryland big man Derik Queen — and gave up a 2026 unprotected first-round pick in the process.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 26 June 2025
One of the dumbest Marmol decisions in a career full of head-scratchers.
—Katie Woo, New York Times, 20 June 2025
Cooper Neill/Getty Images The Eagles' decision to move on from CJ Gardner-Johnson at the start of the offseason was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time.
—Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for head-scratcher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-scratcher
mystery
Noun
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Directed by Susanne Bier, this fun mystery also stars Meghann Fahy (Sirens), Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Sam Nivola, and Dakota Fanning.—
Dana Feldman,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
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Hulu has officially given a series order to Phony, a coming-of-age mystery comedy which sees the Friday Night Lights vet playing Ellen, a single mom to her teenage son Sonny (The White Lotus’ Sam Nivola).—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Head-scratcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-scratcher. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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