Expressions Using Our Head and Shoulders

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Many English expressions and idioms use parts of the body to describe things unrelated to the body. For example, a green thumb means to be good at growing vegetables, flowers and other plants. And if something costs an arm and a leg, it is very expensive.

Well, today, we talk about your shoulder. This part connects your arm to your body. And the shoulder finds its way into many expressions.

For starters, let's talk about “shoulder” as a verb. If you shoulder something, you accept it as your responsibility; you give support, or you take the blame.

Here is an example:

Since he was the leader of the project, he shouldered the blame for its failure.

And this is a great place to start. This idea of taking responsibility and giving support leads us to some other “shoulder” expressions.

For example, during difficult times in our lives, it is often necessary to have a shoulder to lean on or a shoulder to cry on.

When we lean on someone's shoulder, we ask for their help. When we cry on someone's shoulder, they are there for support.

It is important to have at least one friend who has a good shoulder to cry on. These friends are great because they don't ask questions. They just listen and let us cry. You can also put your head on someone's shoulder. This means you are getting comfort and support from that person.

We call people who give us a shoulder to lean on or cry on our “support system.”

There is another way our shoulders give us support. If you are successful in your career but others have come before you, you can say you are standing on the shoulders of giants. This means you have not succeeded on your own. You have learned from others in the same field who had earlier successes.

This expression is often used in science. This is an area where discoveries are often built upon the works of others. Because this expression uses the word “giant,” we often use it when talking about very well-known people. For example, in the world of science, the giants may include Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein.

Now, from our shoulders, let's move up to our heads. Our heads are centered between our shoulders. So, it should not be surprising that we have a couple of expressions that use both.

If you have a good head on your shoulders, you are thoughtful and smart. You do the right thing, and people can count on you. When you have a good head on your shoulders, you often achieve success in life.

This quality, people say, often puts you head and shoulders above the rest. This means you are much better than those in a similar field or competition.

Let's here it used in an example:

You have applied for a job. You have more education and much more experience than the job requires. You also have special skills that make you even more desirable. You feel these factors put you head and shoulders above the other candidates.

Here's another example:

You are preparing to run in a race. You have clocked the fastest time, and you have trained more than all the other runners. That certainly makes you head and shoulders above the rest.

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.

Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.

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idiom -n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be learned as a whole

expensive -adj. costly : having a high price

lean on -v. to depend on someone for support and encouragement

giant -adj. having extremely large size, proportion, or power

apply -v. to make an application : apply for a job

factor -n. something that contributes to the production of a result