Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
hair-curling en · ADJ
Meanings
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(idiomatic) Exciting, astonishing, frightening, or horrifying.
If the walls . . . could talk, they would reveal some hair-curling secrets.
2008 October 7, J. Gibson, E. Tadros, “A touch of nostalgia up for grabs”, in Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, retrieved 09 Nov 2010:But, first and foremost, "Retreat with Stilwell" is a rip snorting, spine tingling, hair curling story, and as such it is quite likely to hold you.
1943 March 14, Arthur Otis, “Belden Pens a Hair-Curling Story of Disaster in Burma”, in Chicago Daily Tribune, retrieved 09 Nov 2010, page F10:[T]he era of good feeling Carter has created in his party . . . could be a prelude to an activist presidency bent on shaking and changing the status quo with hair-curling audacity.
1976 July 18, Eugene Patterson, “They're not saying ‘Jimmy Who?’”, in St. Petersburg Times, retrieved 09 Nov 2010:Many of Mr. Dahl's stories are hair-curling tales of man's inhumanity to man, particularly woman's to man.
1960 February 7, Lewis Nichols, “In and Out of Books”, in New York Times, page BR8:
Forms
Relateds
curl someone's hair
Synonyms
hair-raising