✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!
play body parts video
Usage Notes

When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes


Editor Peter Sokolowski breaks down a number of body parts with metaphorical uses as verbs, from head to toe.

Transcript:

Many parts of the body can be used as verbs in either a physical or a metaphorical sense. You can head a company, but if things go wrong you'll have to shoulder the blame, or face your investors. A good leader backs their employees, but if you don't toe the line you might get skinned. Did you muscle your way into that job? You might eye someone suspiciously, or wait for the police to finger a suspect. But if you need to get out of town, try thumbing a ride. You can ride with me if you can stomach the thought. I don't always sing along to the radio, but you might see me mouthing the words.

Up next

play body parts video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs

 

Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes

play emily brewster and one and the same text graphic
'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

 

Is it all the same anyway?

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

play there theyre their video
There, They're, Their

 

There, there. We'll sort it out.

play video who vs whom
Who vs. Whom

 

Good news for those who feel stuffy saying 'whom.'

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others