big head

See also: bighead and big-head

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌbɪɡ ˈhɛd/
• (bighead) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪɡˌhɛd/

Noun

big head (plural big heads)

1. Alternative form of bighead (“person with an inflated opinion of themselves”).
2. (idiomatic) An inflated ego, an exaggerated belief in one's own importance.

   He has gotten a little success, and a big head to go with it.

   • 1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System:

     Don't let the Mayor's compliments give you a big head.

3. (idiomatic, usually humorous) The brain, as opposed to the penis, little head; rational thought, as opposed to lust.
   • 2022 April 4, Joe Giordano, Appointment with ISIL, Rogue Phoenix Press, →ISBN:

     "I wasn't thinking." "Oh, you were thinking, just not with your big head. [...] A sexy skirt catches your eye, and you're blind to what's in front of you."

4. (figurative, sometimes capitalized) The short head of a long tail distribution.
   • 2019, Roy Christopher, “The Meme is Dead, Long Live the Meme”, in Alfie Bown, Dan Bristow, editors, Post Memes: Seizing the Memes of Production, punctum books, →ISBN, page 31:

     My friend Mark Wieman noted recently that the Long Tail has gotten so long and so thick that there's not much left in the Big Head.

5. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (Jamaica, slang) To be under the effect of cannabis.