3

I have used the phrases "This is going to come to a head" or "coming to a head". I think I know what they mean, I think I'm using them correctly.

So...where do these phrases come from? And, ahem, what do they (really) mean?

Improve this question
7
  • 3
    They come from the behavior of pimples. Study them carefully and you will see what it, ahem, really means.
    – John Lawler
    Mar 12 '15 at 14:59
  • 2
    What @John said. I thought there might be some less "yucky" etymology, but thefreedictionary entry for come/bring to a head really does say These phrases allude to the medical sense of head, the tip of an abscess that is about to burst.
    – FumbleFingers
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:07
  • 1
    By the way, I should mention that TFD (The Free Dictionary) now has its etymologies linked to the American Heritage Dictionary lists of Proto-Indo-European roots and of Semitic roots. These are the latest versions, now available to all word freaks. Enjoy,
    – John Lawler
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:12
  • @FumbleFingers: yeah, I kind of wish I hadn't asked. I'll never use this phrase again. I guess I'll start a question asking for alternatives!
    – Jeromy French
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:17
  • 1
    You kinda wish you hadn't asked! So do I! I was perfectly happy using this idiom myself for decades, but now I might need to reconsider. Should I look for an even more circumlocutory expression such as erupting, or just "tell it like it is", and start talking about critical situations pustulating?
    – FumbleFingers
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:31
3

Come to a head: (TFD)

  • Fig. [for a problem] to reach a critical or crucial stage.

Ngram: the expression 'come to a head' seems to be used from the 18th century and appears to refer to the culminating part of boil, a pimple or abscess that is likely to break.

Come to a head: The phrase finder refers to MW:

  • a) the part of a boil, pimple, or abscess at which it is likely to break
  • b) culminating point of action : CRISIS -- events came to a head.
Improve this answer
5
  • 1
    The phrase originated as a vulgarity in late latin. A popular guess about why "head" is used is the analogy of lettuce growing from a seed to completion —a head of lettuce.
    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:03
  • @IanMacDonald - Interesting..please provide evidence and make an answer.
    – user66974
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:05
  • So, the reference is not to a pot of boiling water about to spill over?
    – Jeromy French
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:05
  • 1
    For some people. Pimples are slow, boiling water is too fast. For others the topmost position of anything is its head, and come to a head adds the concept of increasing differentiation between the head and the rest. That's way more semantic similarity than an idiom needs; consider kick the bucket.
    – John Lawler
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:06
  • 1
    @JohnLawler: the boil in definition (a) is referring to a furuncle, not boiling water.
    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 12 '15 at 15:14

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.