Our language has integrated our understanding of the body, even if on the surface level we’ve forgotten to bring our bodies along to most of our wheelings and dealings. I’m sure you’ll think of more examples. (And I’m not an NLP master, so those of you out there, show us your mettle).
The head of this house. Headless chicken. I need to get my head around this. Head master. Body corporate. Corporation. Shoulder to the grind. Elbow grease. Pain in the neck. Get a hold of yourself! Give me a hand. Started on the wrong foot. Lip service. …a nod to … underhand. I see what you mean. Lead foot. The bee’s knees. Let me sit with it. Up in arms. Empty hands. Pulling my hair out! Fight tooth and nail. Family member. Shorthand. At arm’s length. Knee-jerk reaction. Arse-end of the world. I smell a rat. Eye-opening. Keep my eyes peeled. Grin and bear it. Spineless. Sick to the stomach. Spring in my step. At the back of my mind. Top of mind. Mindless. Mindful. I’m sure I’ll add more throughout the course of the day/week/month. Finger on the pulse. Head over heels. Heart on her sleeve. Packs a punch. Roll with it. To eyeball something. To get a head’s up. On the nose. Under the skin. To the bone. Headline. Footnote. Colon. Period. Head of the table. Bottom of the class. I’ve had a gut full! Turn a blind eye. Fall on deaf ears. His heart skipped a beat. To be in two minds about something.
Add your 2 cents, in the comments! Would be fun to make a collation of the responses.
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