go to (one's) head
1. Of an accomplishment, to cause one to become arrogant. Yeah, you did a good job on that project, but don't let it go to your head. A: "Bill has been so annoying lately." B: "I know, he really let that promotion go to his head." Now that Samantha's a best-selling author, she's so obnoxious. All of the success has gone to her head, I guess.
2. To cause one to feel dizzy or tipsy. If I don't eat something, this drink will go right to my head. I don't drink much, so one glass of champagne will go right to my head! I think I need to sit down. The wine and the heat have gone to my head!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
go to someone's head
1. Fig. [for something, such as fame or success] to make someone conceited. Don't let all this praise go to your head. Too much success will go to her head.
2. Fig. [for alcohol] to affect someone's brain. That last glass of champagne went right to her head. Any kind of liquor goes to my head.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
go to one's head
1. Make one dizzy or drunk, as in Wine always goes to her head. [c. 1900]
2. Make one proud or vain, as in All this money is going to his head. [Early 1900s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
go to one's head, to
To be unduly influenced by praise or success. This expression, which likens the effect of praise to that of alcoholic beverages, dates from the twentieth century. The OED cites its appearance in Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Niggers (published in the United States as And Then There Were None, 1939): “He’s played God Almighty for a good many months. . . . That must go to a man’s head eventually.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer