Is it just Southerners who refer to someone as “bald-headed” or do people in other parts of the country talk about someone who is bald-headed instead of just bald?

I’ve heard that description many times growing up and living my whole life in Louisiana, so I’m not sure what caught my attention recently about someone being described as bald-headed.

For some reason, now I’m wondering why do we say bald-headed, instead of just bald?

Indeed someone who is bald-headed has no hair, or not much hair, on his head.

But I’ve never heard of a man with no beard or mustache being described as bald-faced, or a man with no hair on his chest as bald-chested.

If not having hair on your head means you are bald, how did the description get developed that you are also bald-headed, but if you shave off your beard, no one says anything about you having a bald face?

There is the description of something being a bald-faced lie. I found a couple of articles that say that expression was referencing a face with a beard.

Apparently back in the 18th and 19th centuries in Great Britain, the style was for businessmen to have beards, and at least one reason for the beard was to help disguise facial expressions, presumably during a business deal.

I suppose the full beard would lessen the chance of you noticing a small smile if someone liked something or grimace if he did not.

Anyway, those without beards were thought to not be able to lie as easily as those with beards, so their lies were bald-faced.

I read in the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary online that bald-headed means “in a rush, without care or caution.”

So for example, “She came out bald-headed and accused me of stealing her violin.”

It did not suggest she had no hair.

“The planes went bald-headed after the enemy squadron.”

Does this suggest a bald-headed man is bald, but doesn’t care?

The Kinks recorded a song titled, “Bald Headed Woman” in 1964, and then The Who recorded that same song in 1965.

I’m not familiar with that song. The lyrics from the first verses reportedly include:

Yeah I don’t want no bald headed woman,

It’ll make me mean yeah lord it’ll make me mean,

Yeah I don’t want no bald headed woman,

It’ll make me mean yeah lord it’ll make me mean.

Yeah I don’t want no sugar in my coffee,

It’ll make me mean yeah lord it’ll make me mean, …

Not sure why sugar in their coffee made them mean, but suppose that’s something else to ponder. Or perhaps more appropriately, those of us from a part of the country where sugar is produced should argue that any suggestion that putting sugar in your coffee will make you mean is a bald-faced lie?

And while thinking of things about those bald, or bald-headed:

• Patient: “Doctor, doctor. My hair is falling out. Got anything to keep it in?”

Doctor: “Sure. Here’s a paper bag.”

• Why don’t bald men need keys?

They’ve lost their locks.

 

WILL CHAPMAN is publisher of The Daily Iberian.