(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)
Do You Like Poetry?
In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge penned the following verse:
Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.
Coleridge employed symbolism to equate the Albatross with a burden. Nowadays an albatross about one’s neck still refers to a burden. In fact, the phrase is used so often that we consider it cliché.
The Eye of the Beholder Changes Perspective
To a would-be borrower, a loan officer’s neck might seem as scrawny as his compassion.
A sumo wrestler could be viewed by the audience as neckless or thick-necked.
A serial killer might view the furrows on the neck of his latest victim as deeper than the ravine he intends to toss her into.
Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations
Some of the following phrases will only function from the viewpoint of the focal character, while others will be visible to everyone in the scene. Ensure that the circumstances provide clear direction for accurate interpretation of body language.
Each underlined phrase is followed by the emotions it could represent.
bent neck, hanging head: depression, disappointment, dread, humiliation, hurt
cords standing out on neck: aggravation, anguish, annoyance, anticipation, fear, frustration, hate, rage
covering the hollow in one’s neck: insecurity, uncertainty, worry
exposing one’s neck: confidence, desire, determination, flirtatiousness, pride, satisfaction, smugness
flexing or rolling one’s neck: tranquility, uncertainty
flushing or sweating neck: discomfort, embarrassment, hate
grabbing one’s neck, adjusting tie, fiddling with necklace: insecurity, uncertainty, worry
hair bristling on the back of one’s neck: agitation, unease
hiding one’s neck in a pronounced shrug: dread
rubbing one’s neck: agitation, anguish, confusion, decision-making process, determination, disappointment, embarrassment, evaluation of options, frustration, irritation, nervousness, perseverance, resolve, skepticism, stubbornness, suspicion, uncertainty
scratching one’s neck: anxiety, concern, conflict, disbelief, distraction, doubt, dread, frustration, skepticism
stiff neck and shoulders: aggravation, annoyance, contempt, defensiveness, desperation, impatience, worry
stroking one’s neck: adulation
tensing one’s neck muscles, and leaning forward: rage, resentment
tingling neck: embarrassment
touching one’s neck: attraction, confusion, guilt, reluctance
tugging at one’s collar: deceit, deception
twisting one’s neck: anticipation
If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Adjectives
Many of the words in this list are opinion adjectives. Who would consider a neck appetizing? A lover? A vampire? A cannibal?
Context, context, context.
A and B
abnormal, angular, appetizing, aristocratic, aromatic, arthritic, attractive, awkward, awry, baggy, bare, beautiful, beefy, blemished, bloodstained, bloody, blubbery, bony, brawny, bristly, broad, bruised, bulky, bumpy, burly
C and D
cadaverous, caked, chiseled, chubby, clammy, coarse, cold, colossal, comical, compact, conspicuous, corpulent, corrugated, creased, crepey, crinkled, crooked, crusty, curved, defenseless, deformed, delectable, delicate, diaphanous, dirty, disproportionate, distorted, downy, drenched, drum-tight, dumpy
E to G
elastic, elegant, elongated, emaciated, enticing, exquisite, fat, faultless, feminine, fibrous, filthy, flabby, flaccid, flaky, flat, flawless, fleshy, flexible, flimsy, fragile, fragrant, frail, furrowed, gangly, gaunt, gawky, ginormous, gluey, gnarled, graceful, greasy, grimy, gristly, gritty, grotesque, grubby, grungy, gummy
H to L
hairy, haughty, heavy, herculean, hideous, hirsute, honeyed, hot, hulking, husky, hypersensitive, icy, immense, imperial, inflamed, inflexible, insubstantial, intractable, invisible, inviting, kingly, knotted, lean, leathery, limber, limp, lined, loathsome, long, loose, lovely
M to R
malformed, masculine, massive, mighty, misshapen, moist, monstrous, mucky, muddy, muscular, naked, narrow, neckless, noble, obstinate, oily, outstretched, overlong, painful, pathetic, perfect, petite, plump, podgy, powerful, prickly, prodigious, prominent, proud, pudgy, puffy, puny, queenly, raw, reedy, regal, repulsive, revolting, rickety, rigid, ropey, rough, rubbery, rucked, rugged, rumpled
S
saggy, scaly, scraggy, scrawny, sensitive, sexy, shaggy, shapeless, short, silky, sinewy, sinuous, skeletal, skinny, slack, sleek, slender, slick, slimy, slippery, smooth, soaked, soft, soggy, solid, sore, spindly, spongy, square, squashed into the shoulders, squat, stately, sticky, stiff, stout, straight, streaked, strong, stubbly, stubborn, stubby, stumpy, sturdy, substantial, supple, svelte, sweaty, sweet, sweet-smelling, swollen
T to Y
taut, tempting, tender, tense, thick, thickset, thin, thin-skinned, tight, tough, transparent, tubby, twisted, unadorned, underdeveloped, unprotected, unstable, unsteady, unyielding, useless, veined, velvety, visible, vulnerable, warm, warped, wasted, weak, weather-beaten, weedy, wet, wide, willowy, wind-whipped, wiry, withered, wizened, wobbly, worthless, wrinkled, wry, yielding
See also 300+ Words to Describe Skin and 400+ Adjectives to Describe Texture.
Similes and Metaphors
“Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”
Did you see the turtle’s neck? James B. Conant’s quote evokes a striking mental image.
Try some of the following for the same effect with your readers. Most function as adjectives. Others might work better in similes that incorporate like or as.
A few animal words:
B to V
birdlike, bovine, bull-like, coltish, crane-like, elephantine, flamingo-like, goosey, lizard, mammoth, mulish, porcine, reptilian, serpentine, swanlike, turkey, vulture-like
More words and phrases that could be incorporated in comparisons:
B to T
a bottle of fine wine, a hatchet handle, a long-stemmed rose complete with thorns, a map with multiple crisscrossing rivers, marmoreal (like marble), reed, rope, roughneck, string, tree trunk
Colors
A person who spends hours every day in the sun is unlikely to have a pink neck. It might be bronzed, sunburnt, or tanned.
A coalminer might go home every night with a black neck.
For an office worker, colors such as pasty or white provide appropriate verbal pictures.
Words like dappled and piebald may connote animals. Good? Bad? Depends on your narrative.
A few colors to stimulate your creative palate:
B to Y
black, blue [from berry stains, frostbite], bronzed, brown, copper, creamy, dappled, discolored, fair, florid, freckled, golden, ivory, marbled, milky, mottled, olive, orange, pasty, piebald, pink, purple, red, ruddy, russet, sallow, snowy, splotchy, sunburnt, swarthy, tanned, tawny, white, yellow
See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Colors.
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
Verbs (1): Transitive
Transitive verb: a verb that takes one or more direct objects.
Characters or other entities may perform the following actions on their own necks or the necks of others:
A to E
abrade (on), bare, bite, break, breathe on, caress (with), chafe (on, with), choke, chomp on, circle, clasp (with), cling to, clutch (with), conceal (behind, beneath, with), cover (with), crick, crush, dab (with), disfigure, drape (with), dry (on, with), encircle (with), expose
F to M
finger, fondle (with), gash (on, with), gnaw on, grab (with), grip (with), guard (behind, with), hang onto (with), heat (with), hiss against, hold a knife to, hold onto (with), injure (on, with), jab (with), kiss, knead (with), lacerate (on, with), maim, massage (with), maul, moisten (with), murmur against, mutilate (with)
N to R
nick (on, with), nip (with), nudge (with), nuzzle (with), pat (with), peck at, penetrate (with), perforate (with), pierce (with), pin (to), pinch (with), place (atop, on), poke (with), prick (with), protect (with), punch (with), puncture (on, with), reveal, rick, rub (with)
S
scar (with), scour (with), scrape (on, with), scratch (on, with), seize (with), shield (behind, with), sprain, stab (with), step on (with), stomp on (with), strain, strangle, stroke (with), swab (with), swathe (in, with)
T to Y
throttle, touch (with), towel (on, with), uncover, warm (with), whisper against, wipe (on, with), wound (on, with), wrap (with), wrench, wring, yoke
Verbs (2): Intransitive
Intransitive verb: a verb that doesn’t take a direct object.
This list includes actions that necks themselves can perform. Consider point of view as you write.
People will be able to observe someone else’s neck bulge or darken. Conversely, the focal character will feel a burning neck, but this sensation won’t be obvious to others unless you provide clues such as the application of aloe vera gel.
A to F
ache, arch, atrophy, bend, blister, bloat, bow, break, bruise, buckle, bulge, burn, chill, color, constrict, contort, cramp, crane, crick, crinkle, darken, discolor, distend, drip, elongate, extend, flake, flush, fracture
H to R
heal, itch, kink, knot, lengthen, lighten, loosen, mend, ooze, peel, perspire, prickle, protrude, puff (up), pulsate, pulse, redden, reek, roll
S to W
sag, shrivel, smart, spasm, steam, stiffen, sting, stink, strain, strengthen, stretch (out), sweat, swell, tauten, tense, throb, tighten, tingle, turn, twinge, twist, undulate, warp, waste (away), weaken, wither
Nouns
Here are a few nouns and noun phrases that refer to necks, including some I invented.
H to W
head rest, nape (back of the neck), necklace rack, noose stretcher, scruff (back of the neck), tattoo exhibit, throat (front of the neck), whiplash moneymaker
Props
Looking for a plot twist? Check out these props, and let your mind wander.
A to C
acne, acupuncture, Adam’s apple, aftershave, aloe vera gel, armor, bandana, bertha, birthmark, bite marks, blemish, blister, boat-neck garment, boil, bolo tie, Botox treatment, bow tie, bug bite, cape, cervical collar, cervical traction, chain, chiropractor, choker, collar, cosmetic surgery, cravat, CT scan
D to M
discoloration, dart, dickey, dust, frill, garrote, gorget collar, hyoid bone, immobilization, inflammation, insect repellant, iron collar, kerchief, knife, larynx, lesion, liver spots, lymph nodes, lotion, masseuse, masseur, mole, MRI scan, murderer, muscle
N to R
neck brace, neck lift, neck rings, neck roll (football), neckband, neckerchief, necklace, neckline, osteoarthritis, perfume, piano wire, pillow, pimple, pockmark, puncture, puss, rash, razor, redneck, ribbon, rickets, rope, ruff
S to X
scab, scar, scarf, scoop-neck garment, serial killer, shackle, shaving cream, skin cream, skinny necktie, soot, spear, sprain, strangulation, tattoo, tie, trachea, travel pillow, turtleneck sweater, V-neck T-shirt, vein, wart, wattle, weal, welt, western bowtie, whiplash, wimple, wound, x-ray
Clichés and Idioms
Necking is fine when you’re in love, but not so much when neck appears on every page of a novel. Try to limit repetitions by replacing phrases like the following with shorter alternatives.
brass necked: bold, confident, impudent, nervy, self-assured
dead from the neck up: dense, fatuous, stupid, witless
hard-necked (1): audacious, bold, daring
hard-necked (2): fearless, gutsy, nervy
millstone around one’s neck: burden, inconvenience, liability
neck and neck: close; equal, even
neck of the woods: area, neighborhood, vicinity
neck or nothing: careless, heedless, rash, reckless, risking everything
pain in the neck: annoyance, menace, nuisance, pest
stiff-necked (1): arrogant, conceited, haughty
stiff-necked (2): obdurate, obstinate, stubborn
to break one’s neck: hustle, labor, strive, sweat, toil
to breathe down someone’s neck: interfere, monitor, snoop
to get it in the neck: accept responsibility, take the blame
to put one’s neck on the line: chance, dare, imperil, risk
to stick one’s neck out: dare, gamble, risk, venture
to win by a neck: barely win, edge out
up to one’s neck: overburdened, overstretched, overwhelmed, overworked
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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Thank you so much for these lists, they are invaluable to us. xx
Thanks for reading them, Adele!