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head over heels

At top speed; frantically.

Etymology:

  • Emerged in the 14th century as "heels over head", which is more literally accurate, as "head over heels" is the more standard state of being. "Heels over head" evolved into "head over heels" in common use, departing its literal meaning, probably for reasons of phrasal elegance.
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Hearing the noise in the dark, the children ran head over heels back home.

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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'head over heels':

head over heelsHopelessly smitten.
head over heelsTumbling upside down.
See them all »

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to head over heels

head offhead of steamhead triphead triphead offhead offhead to headhead southhead waiterhead offhead starthead uphead honchohead start

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