A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

be hardly out of the shell • come out of one’s shell
be hardly out of the shell— be too young and inexperienced:
You are hardly out of the shell and already you have the temer-
ity to question the authority of the Talmud!
come out of one’s shell —(also: crawl out of one’s shell) become
more sociable and outgoing: Under the soothing influence of
coffee and tobacco, he came out of his shell. Cf.: go into one’s
shell —(also: retire into one’s shell) become shy, quiet, or reserved:
Every time the subject was raised, her son would go into his
shell again.
Note: 
The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase
come out of the closet—admit openly smth. previously kept
secret because one is ashamed or embarrassed about it: She has
decided to come out of the closet today and discuss her life as
lesbian.
be headstrong • have a strong head
be headstrong —be self-willed and obstinate: George Eliot’s
– 35 –
be headstrong

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young country hero is headstrong and arrogant, and sees the
world in black and white.
have a strong head —(coll.) be not easily intoxicated by
liquor: I could drink as much as the best of them and I had,
for such a youngster, a tolerable strong head.
Note: 
a) Neither expression correlates in meaning with the
phrase be strong-minded— be resolute and determined: Every-
one describes him in a similar way — to say that Clarence was
strong minded, had a strong personality, was strong willed.
b) Neither expression is antonymous in meaning to the phrase
be weak in the head
—(coll.) be mentally retarded (also: be soft
in the head): When he stopped speaking his mouth hung open
… I realized that he was weak in the head.