头角 almost never appears alone - it lives inside the set phrases 初露头角 ('first show one's horns/talent') and 崭露头角 ('distinctly show one's talent'). Learn the chunks, not the bare noun.
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Literally 'head-horns.' The image is a young animal's antlers just starting to emerge - a tidy metaphor for budding talent. Same picture as the English idiom 'lock horns,' different application.
