🤸🏼♂️ Head Over Heels: Flipping Around Language and Love 💘
The Upside-Down Origin Story
The phrase “head over heels” started off as “heels over head,” making its more logical debut in a collection of Early English Alliterative Poems around 1350. Imagine our poetic ancestors tumbling end over end, probably to escape a medieval mishap or knight in shining armor joust misfire!
Fast forward to the 1770s, when an unassuming scribe spun the saying to “head over heels” in the quirky yet contemplative context of a face-altering kick in “The Contemplative Man”. Clearly, some of our forebears found tackling turns easier than tackling context!
Fast-tracking to the 19th century, we have none other than the resourceful frontiersman David Crockett admitting he had fallen unabashedly “head over heels in love” in his 1834 narrative. Talk about a leap of language linking somersaults to sweethearts!
Related Terms and Synonyms
- Topsy-turvy
- Ass over teakettle (for those daring circus clowns out there!)
- Arse over elbow (thank you, dear Brits)
- Over the moon (for when a cartwheel just isn’t enough)
Antonyms
- Keep your feet on the ground
- Stable as a tabletop
- Firm as a rock
Humor-Filled Quotes
“Falling in love consists merely in uncorking the imagination and bottling the common sense.” – Helen Rowland
Suggested Literature, Books, Songs, Poetry, and Movies
Literature
- Narrative of the Life of David Crockett – Davey Crockett
- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (If Mr. Darcy didn’t turn Elizabeth’s world head over heels, can anyone?)
Poetry
- West Side Story’s “Maria” – That love-at-first-sight gymnastic leap called love!
Songs
- Head Over Feet – Alanis Morissette (Close relative)
- Crazy In Love – Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z
Movies
- 10 Things I Hate About You – High-school hijinks doubling as somersaults of the heart.
- Tangled – Rapunzel quite literally tumbles into both love and freedom.
Quizzes
Inspirational Farewell: Keep turning life’s pages with wide-eyed curiosity. Let the old ideas of yesterday be the acrobats of today, tumbling into novel meanings and heart-flipping moments. See you on the flip side! 📚✨ - W. T. Wittywords
