“Go at Something Bald-Headed” Means Rush In Head-On

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Mike Jolly, and I’m calling from Madison, Wisconsin.

Hi, Mike. How are you doing?

Hey, Mike.

I’m doing great. How are you guys doing?

Super duper.

Super.

Welcome to the show. What’s up?

My mom always used this term when she was mad at me, and she would say, Michael, I’m going to pinch you bald-headed. And she never pulled my hair, but she would reach out and pinch my cheek really hard. And my grandmother said the same thing. And I’ve never heard anybody else ever say this word. And my mom and my grandmother are both from Oklahoma, if that helps at all. And recently my mom passed away, so I started wondering about this saying and if it has any roots. And if so, where are those roots from?

Well, sorry to hear about your mom.

Well, thank you.

So she would say, I’m going to pinch you bald-headed, but she would pinch your bald cheek.

Yeah.

Is that right?

That’s pretty close, yeah.

And did she say anything else about it? Did anything follow that?

No, I didn’t ask. I just pretty much wanted to get out of there.

Oh, I see.

Okay, so would she say that when she was joking or when she was genuinely upset with something you did?

Genuinely upset with something I did.

Well, we see bald-headed a lot in phrases that have to do with going at something just completely, like acting impetuously without regard to consequences, going for somebody bald-headed, meaning just totally, completely. And I often see snatch you bald-headed or jerk you bald-headed or grab you bald-headed.

Yeah, pinch is really rare, actually.

But I could see how snatch could turn into pinch.

Yeah, definitely.

Definitely.

Mark Twain used it that way, as a matter of fact, snatching bald-headed. And do you get the idea, Martha, that maybe it has something to do with the era when people wore wigs or at least people of importance wore wigs?

I’ve wondered about that, going at somebody bald-headed, meaning their wig might come off. But I don’t know. I think also the notion of bald-headed being completely devoid of hair, something that’s totally and completely occurred.

Well, yeah, and that bald-headed, that slangy version of bald-headed that you were talking about, going after something completely without regard for your safety or anything else, also kind of converts into a bald-headedness that to be bald-headed is to do something without any preparation. And so I’m going to snatch you bald-headed could mean you’re not going to know when I’m coming for you.

Okay.

No, she made it pretty clear.

Yeah.

She was upset with me when I was a child. So, you know, she would take care of matters right then and right there. So I don’t know that that was true, but I can see her, you know, doing it all out, you know, the first definition that you gave.

Right.

You know, we do have it in the historical record as far back as the 1860s, probably earlier. And it kind of comes up in jocular newspaper columns or Mark Twain-style writing, you know, the pretend Rustic who is providing the kind of Will Rogers type of commentary on the politics and the situation of the day.

Kind of rambunctious.

Yeah, that sort of colorful language that goes kind of hand-in-hand with a lot of other kind of goofy talk. And you had said earlier that Mark Twain used this phrase, but it was the snatch-you-ball-headed phrase.

Yeah, that’s by far the most common variant of it, by far. Like probably 100 to 1. But I do like pinch. I might have to borrow that one. Pinchy bald-headed.

When Martha and I have done this call in the past, I think for weeks afterward, we just go around muttering to ourselves, I’m going to snatch your bald-headed. And you’re just waiting for the right opportunity to come along so you can actually use it.

It’s too good, right?

It’s too late in Grant’s case.

Oh, yeah.

I’m not completely wrong.

No, you’re not.

No.

Mike, thank you so much for calling.

Thank you guys a lot. I appreciate the history, and I’ll keep listening to your show.

Thanks, Mike. Appreciate it.

Take care.

Thanks a lot. Bye-bye.

All right. Bye-bye.

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