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Wind in the head vs Windmills in the head

admin Confusing Phrases

wind in the head—

1. vain imagination or conceit:

  • He has probably got wind in the head through living in that gorgeous Gothic pagoda.

2. unpredictability or flippancy in behavior:

  • “Wind in the head,” the servants called it. But it was but the natural consequence of the state of mental and bodily idleness in which she was placed.

Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the compound airhead—(U.S. sl.) smb. who isn’t very smart; a stupid person:

  • “Spell check” can’t save the truly illiterate ones. How can such airheads ever manage to graduate?

windmills in the head—foolish projects or notions:

  • These windmills in the head are what apparently drive state policies about “national security.”