What does the expression «to lose all one’s hair» mean?
A tricky question: what does it mean to “опростоволоситься” (“oprostovolositsya” or "lose all one’s hair" and what does a headscarf have to do with it?
In the old days, a woman couldn't leave the house without a headscarf, ie. bareheaded. Failure to do so meant she'd put herself in an awkward position.
Today, this expression refers less to headwear and more to a person who has found themselves in an awkward position, due to a mistake.
In Ostrovsky's play ‘Our People – We'll Settle the Record’, the hero worries: "How can we avoid losing all our hair with this matter now?"
An English equivalent would be: “To make a fool of oneself.”
