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A head for figures?
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Stenka25  #533129  Fri, 27 Jun 08 12:10 AM
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In 'figure' article in a dicitonary, 'a head for figures' come up two times and

6 figures [plural] British English :the activity of adding, multiplying etc numbers [= arithmetic]

• a natural ability with figures

8 a person in a painting or a model of a person:

• the figure in the background

• A Head for Figures

I want to know what 'a head for figures' means?

It seems like the meaning of the expression can be 'be good at arithmetic' in meaning six. But in meaning eight I cannot figure out what the 'a head for figures' refers to. Does it still mean 'be good at arithmetic'?

Thanks in advance.
  
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Clive  #533132  Fri, 27 Jun 08 12:22 AM
Hi,

Tom has a head for figures means Tom is good at math, good with numbers.

Clive
  
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Stenka25  #533139  Fri, 27 Jun 08 12:57 AM
Thanks, Clive.

But what I want to asy is how that meaning comes up in meaning number eight. It's better to come up in number six.

[ I referred  the Longman dictionary of Contemporary English. ]
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8 a person in a painting or a model of a person:

• the figure in the background

• A Head for Figures
  
Yankee  #533142  Fri, 27 Jun 08 01:16 AM
It's hard to say why it appears there, Stenka.  Maybe it is just an editing error.  I also don't understand why it is capitalized.
  
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Stenka25  #533228  Fri, 27 Jun 08 08:47 AM
Sorry, it's my mistake to put a sentence which is not on a dicitonary.

It's just my mistake.
Sorry, again.
Thanks all of you.
  
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