VOA词汇掌故2024--Expressions Using Our Head and Shoulders

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ 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 standing² on the shoulders of giants. This means you have not succeeded on your own. You have learned³ 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 works⁴ 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 thoughtful⁵ 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 applied⁶ 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 desirable⁷. You feel these factors put you head and shoulders above the other candidates⁸.

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.

Words in This Story

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

expensive -adj. costly⁹ : having a high price

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

giant -adj. having extremely large size, proportion¹⁰, or power

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

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

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 thoughtful   

adj.思考的，沉思的，体贴的，关心的

参考例句：

• She is thoughtful for her friends.她很体贴她的朋友们。
• This is a thoughtful essay.这是一篇具有思想性的随笔。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 desirable   

adj.值得拥有的；可取的，有利的

参考例句：

• Some reasonable adjustments seem desirable.某些合理的调整似乎是可取的。
• Prolonged negotiation was not desirable.拖长了的谈判并不是大家所想要的。

8 candidates   

n.报考者( candidate的名词复数 )；申请求职者；攻读学位者；最后命运或结局如何已显然可见者

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• one of the leading candidates for the presidency 总统职位的主要候选人之一

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 proportion   

n.比率，比例；大小

参考例句：

• His head is out of proportion to the size of his body.他的头部与身体大小不成比例。
• The proportion of imports to exports is worrying the government.进口与出口的比例令政府担忧。