head-shrinker

See also: headshrinker

English

Alternative forms

• headshrinker

Etymology

Originally US, probably by reference to slang terms like “swelled head” for someone with delusions of grandeur; a psychiatrist would remove such delusions, thus figuratively shrinking the patient's swelled head.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

head-shrinker (plural head-shrinkers)

1. (slang) A psychiatrist or psychotherapist; a shrink.

   Synonyms: headshrink, shrink, trick cyclist

2. (literally) One who shrinks heads, as previously done by some Amazon tribes.

Translations

slang: psychotherapist — see shrink

one who shrinks the heads of the dead

• Finnish: kallonkutistaja (fi)
• Hungarian: fejzsugorító

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “head-shrinker n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang