headshrinker

headshrinker
   a psychiatrist
   An evasion is needed because consulting a psychiatrist, though a status symbol for some, is a shameful matter for others. The usage puns on the practices of primitive tribes apropos their enemies, and is shortened to shrink, while headshrinking describes the process:
    One day I may need some headshrinking work done. (Ustinov, 1971)
    ... ending up on some shrink's couch twice a week. (Hailey, 1979)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • headshrinker — [hed′shriŋk΄ər] n. 1. a headhunter who shrinks the heads of his victims ☆ 2. Slang a psychiatrist …   English World dictionary

  • headshrinker — {n.}, {slang}, {informal} A psychoanalyst, also called a shrink. * /Forrester is falling apart; his family physician sent him to a head shrinker (to a shrink)./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • headshrinker — {n.}, {slang}, {informal} A psychoanalyst, also called a shrink. * /Forrester is falling apart; his family physician sent him to a head shrinker (to a shrink)./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • headshrinker — noun Date: 1950 shrink 3 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Headshrinker — Head shrinker can mean:* A song by the band Oasis * A maker of shrunken heads * A slang word for a mental health professional such as a psychiatrist or psychotherapist …   Wikipedia

  • headshrinker — /hed shring keuhr/, n. Slang. shrink (def. 9). [1945 50, Amer.; HEAD + SHRINK + ER1] * * * …   Universalium

  • headshrinker — noun psychiatrist …   Wiktionary

  • headshrinker — head·shrink·er .shriŋ kər n SHRINK …   Medical dictionary

  • Headshrinker — psychiatrist …   Dictionary of Australian slang

  • headshrinker — Australian Slang psychiatrist …   English dialects glossary

  • headshrinker — n a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst. A jocular term of the 1950s originating in the USA and reflecting the mild contempt, tinged with fear, felt towards the practitioners of these professions. Since the late 1960s both terms have normally been short… …   Contemporary slang

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