(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

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.

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

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