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on one's head. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
on one's head, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
on one's head in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Prepositional phrase
on one's head
- Assumed or borne, as a responsibility or something blameworthy.
1898, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Cæsar and Cleopatra”, in Three Plays for Puritans: The Devil’s Disciple, Cæsar and Cleopatra, & Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, London: Grant Richards, , published 1901, →OCLC, Act V, page 198:cleopatra [vehemently] He has shed the blood of my servant Ftatateeta. On your head be it as upon his, Cæsar, if you hold him free of it.
- Assigned by government authorities as a bounty or penalty.
1810, Walter Scott, “Canto IV. The Prophecy.”, in The Lady of the Lake; , Edinburgh: [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and William Miller, →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 168:[M]y father is a man / Outlawed and exiled, under ban; / The price of blood is on his head, […]
1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter IX, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company , published 1872, →OCLC, page 78:["T]here wasn't a man around there but had a price on his head and didn't dare show himself in the settlements," […]
1989 December 25, Larry Rohter, “Fighting in Panama; Noriega Seeks Asylum at Vatican Embassy”, in New York Times:The Bush Administration had made the capture of General Noriega a principal objective, putting a $1 million bounty on his head.
Translations
assumed or borne, as a responsibility or something blameworthy
See also