cloud-headed

English

WOTD – 4 November 2018

Etymology

From the phrase head in the clouds.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈklaʊdˌhɛdɪd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈklaʊdˌhɛdəd/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: cloud-head‧ed

Adjective

cloud-headed (comparative more cloud-headed, superlative most cloud-headed)

1. Having one's head in the clouds: prone to daydreaming, or thinking impractically.

   Synonym: daydreamy

   • 1997 June 3, Rayctate, “{REVIEW} PICK OF THE BROWN BAG: May 28, 1997”, in rec.arts.comics.misc‎^[1] (Usenet), message-ID <19970603030600.XAA03336@ladder02.news.aol.com>:

     In addition, you can stand in awe of yet another book, that despite being written by men, depicts women as cerebral creatures with slim builds and Barsoomian breasts instead of the typical cloud-headed, cassava-chested cranks of carnage.

   • 1999, Darren Gluckman, The Weight of the World and Other Stories, Toronto, Ont.: Exile Editions, →ISBN, page 56:

     And in the cloud-headed days that followed, he struggled to make sense of this. Perhaps he was dreaming.

   • 2002, Betsy Andrews, editor, 2002/03: Philadelphia Restaurants: […], New York, N.Y.: Zagat Survey, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 40:

     […] but when they tell ya to get "your tough skin on" before you enter, they may be thinking of a wet suit, 'cause it's a "down 'n' dirty" "dive"; are the "cloud-headed waiters" suffering from oxygen deprivation?

   • 2007 April 23, hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com, “Re: Grand Central Terminal open all night?”, in misc.transport.rail.americas‎^[2] (Usenet), message-ID <1177336223.537602.301600@p77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>:

     If I had the time and money I would counter-sue those cloud-head advocates for violating my rights of safety, harassment, and passage. Railroad stations are not homeless shelters. / The cloud-headed advocates don't even ride the trains, and their organizations are funded by rich people who don't ride either.

   • 2011, John Jeremiah Sullivan, “Michael”, in Pulphead: Essays, New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, →ISBN, page 110:

     A cloud-headed child, he likes rainbows and reading.

Translations

having one's head in the clouds

• Esperanto: revema