make head or tail of
Grasp any meaning
To make head or tail of something is to understand or make sense of it—nearly always in the negative: I can't make head or tail of these instructions.
The phrase suggests something so confusing that you can't even orient yourself to it, like an object where you can't distinguish one end from the other.
- rhyme or reasonLogical basis or pattern
- stumpedUnable to solve
- confusedUnable to understand
- understandGrasp the meaning
- perplexedThoroughly confused, uncertain
beyond me · indecipherable · heads or tails · interpret · piece together · lost · lost the plot · explain · clear as mud · figure out · comprehend · bewildered · disoriented · what on earth · baffled · decode · gibberish · makes no sense