Bonnie Hunt
Grace Bellamy
Search results
Loggerheads means to strongly disagree with someone. Learn how to use this idiom in different contexts and see synonyms and related words.
Loggerhead can mean a blockhead, a large sea turtle, or an iron tool. Learn the synonyms, examples, and word history of loggerhead from Merriam-Webster dictionary.
- Etymology
- Terminology
- Significance
- Variations
- Composition
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
'At loggerheads' is of UK origin. The singular 'loggerhead' occurs as a name in several contexts - as a species of turtle, a bird and as a place name. Originally, a loggerhead was none of these but was used with the meaning of 'a stupid person - a blockhead'. Shakespeare used it that way in Love's Labours Lost, 1588:
A 'logger-head' was literally a 'block-head'. A logger was a thick block of timber which was fastened to a horse's leg to prevent it from running away. In the 17th century, a loggerhead was also recorded as 'an iron instrument with a long handle used for melting pitch and for heating liquids'. It is likely that the use of these tools as weapons was...
The next year saw the printing of The Arraignment, Trial, and Condemnation of Stephen Colledge. In that text the author makes a clear link between loggerheads and fighting:
Incidentally, 'fisticuffs' is another two-word term from around the same date that was later amalgamated into a single word. A cuff was a blow with the open hand. A fisty cuff was a cuff using the fist, that is, a punch.
Following the departure of the clown William Kemp from The Lord Chamberlain's Men, the troupe of actors that William Shakespeare worked with for most of his writing and acting career, his place was taken by Robert Armin. In 1605, the diminutive clown Armin, a.k.a. 'Snuff, the Clown of the Globe', had a stab at writing and came up with Foole upon Fo...
Learn the origin and meaning of the phrase 'at loggerheads', which means 'in dispute with'. Find out how it evolved from a term for a stupid person or a weapon, and how it is used in different contexts and expressions.
Loggerheads means to strongly disagree with someone. Learn how to use this idiom in different contexts and levels of English, and see examples and synonyms.
Mar 10, 2015 · Learn the origin and meaning of the idiom to be at loggerheads, which means to be in strong disagreement with someone. Explore the possible sources of the expression, from a block of wood to a tool for melting pitch, and its usage in literature and dictionaries.
- Loggerhead was an established term for blockhead by 1600. Shakespeare uses loggerhead or loggerheaded four times in his plays. From The Tamin...
- Its meaning appears to derive from the name of a few tools that were also used as weapons during very strong disputes. The idiom at loggerhea...
- After some research, I firmly believe that the term 'to be at loggerheads' has its origins in the Welsh language and it came about during the peace...
- The term originates from the transportation of timber via rivers: Log driving The main problem is if the logs get drawn together and form a block i...
When two stubborn people are arguing about something, they're at loggerheads. If you want pizza for dinner and your sister wants falafel and you both refuse to compromise, you're at loggerheads.
People also ask
What is a loggerhead used for?
How much does an adult loggerhead sea turtle weigh?
What other species do loggerhead turtles interact with?
What type of turtle is a loggerhead?
Loggerheads is an idiom that means in strong disagreement. Learn how to pronounce it, see example sentences and synonyms, and find out its origin and grammar.
