as in mysteries
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-scratchers
The Oscar-winning actor playing Zorro is Jean Dujardin, whose run of awards accolades for The Artist remains one of those peculiar head-scratchers.
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Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
30 June 2026
The extraordinary strength of that lineup seems even more pronounced following the conclusion of a 2026 festival that, by consensus and by comparison, was a bit of a disappointment—not without its good and even great films, though with many head-scratchers in between.
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Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 May 2026
Some lineup decisions were head-scratchers, but there was a mandate to try to develop the young guys as much as possible, and Warsofsky gave them a longer leash.
—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
30 June 2026
The extraordinary strength of that lineup seems even more pronounced following the conclusion of a 2026 festival that, by consensus and by comparison, was a bit of a disappointment—not without its good and even great films, though with many head-scratchers in between.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 May 2026
Some lineup decisions were head-scratchers, but there was a mandate to try to develop the young guys as much as possible, and Warsofsky gave them a longer leash.
—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-scratchers
Noun
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Nonetheless, Simón stirs up the ineffable sadness that comes with wanting answers to the mysteries of your family — and then, like it or not, receiving them.
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Many aspects of the physics underlying GRBs remain enigmatic—but Rubin’s potential for discovering entirely new types of transients could soon offer astronomers a wealth of additional cosmic mysteries to solve.
Noun
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In 2024, now grown and with her adoptive father’s approval, the young woman sets off with a wealthy merchant to piece together the historical enigmas surrounding the ancient Sumpa kingdom.
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Bob Gray is one of the big enigmas in the book that are intentionally put there to create tension and are never solved.
Noun
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Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
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To test that, the final group completed cognitively demanding games such as mazes and shape puzzles called tangrams that contained no academic content.
Cite this Entry
“Head-scratchers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-scratchers. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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