Head Movements
Head Movements
- Bowed his head … as if wishing to fall at her feet —Leo Tolstoy
- Craned her head back and forth like a periscope, the way people do when they are searching for a taxi at rush hour in Manhattan —Daphne Merkin
- Cranes his neck like a swan —Anton Chekhov
- Drew his head into his shoulders like the bellows of an accordion —Paul Olsen
- Ducks his head, like a man someone has menaced and who has barely gotten out of the way —Richard Ford
- Gave a shake of his head, like a dazed boxer coming to —Peter De Vries
- Head, bobbing like a hollow ball —John Updike
- (She was looking at her husband) head cocked like a setter bitch (as if wondering, trying to remember who she had climbed into bed with this time) —James Crumley
- (The old man’s) head had lowered itself into his collar like a turtle’s —Flannery O’Connor
- Head moving like a prison search light —T. Glen Coughlin
- Heads … bent, like flowers following the sun or thrushes listening for snails —Frank Swinnerton
- Head sliding forward [while dozing] like an abandoned puppet —T. Alan Broughton
- (Little Nigel’s) head snaps round like a weathervane in a gale —John Le Carré
- Head spun like a lazy susan —Jay Parini
- Head thrust forward like a hungry hawk —Harold Adams
- Head tilted to one side like a bib bird sitting on a branch of a tree —Harvey Swados
- Head tilted to one side like a robin listening for worms —Jay Mclnerney
- Head turning quickly from side to side, like an animal’s —Eudora Welty
- Head wagging like a mechanical toy —F. van Wyck Mason
- Her head dropped like a soaked tea rose —Sharon Sheehe Stark
- His head droops like a sun-flower —S. J. Perelman
- His head hangs limp as a sock full of sand —Ira Wood
- His head moved to and fro like a foolish kitten’s after a swinging tangle of wool —Vicki Baum
- His head rolled about his shoulders like a balloon that wanted to break its string —James Lee Burke
- His head swung like a snake’s as he talked, scanning anyone who chanced to come near —Donald MacKenzie
- Holds up her head like a hen drinking —Scottish proverb
- Lifted his big head like a listening deer —Zane Grey
- Lifted up his head like a mouse sniffing the air —Isaac Babel
- Lowered her head like a slow-witted schoolgirl trying to collect her thoughts in an effort to understand the teacher’s question —Franz Werfel
- Lowered his head to pray, like a martyr who believed the kingdom of heaven was at hand —Z. Vance Wilson
- Made the convulsive movement of his head and neck, as if his tie were too tight —Leo Tolstoy
See Also: NECK
- A man with a small head is like a pin without any, very apt to get into things beyond his depth —Josh Billings
- Nodded like a basking lizard —Derek Lambert
- Nodded … like a leaf —William Mcllvanney
- Nodded smartly —like a second lieutenant’s salute —Jonathan Valin
- Nodding his head like a pecking bird —Beryl Markham
- Nods his head like a sage old trial judge —Richard Ford
- Pulls back his head, like a turtle sensing danger —Rick Borsten
- Shaking her head as if to get rid of a fly —Ruth Suckow
- Shaking her head impatiently … as if in a futile attempt to ease the chafing of an invisible collar —Carolyn Kizer
- Shook his head like a wet retriever —Sharon Sheehe Stark
- Shook his head like an overburdened professor —Martin Cruz
- Shook my head back and forth like a silent, solid bell —Richard S. Prather
- Tossed her head with petulant violence, like a child who doesn’t want her snarls combed out —John Updike
- Turned her head … cocking it a little, like a pretty canary in a cage —Harvey Swados
- Turning his head from side to side as though his necktie were too tight (and when he did that he usually clutched at his throat) —Ivan Turgenev
In a story entitled Knock … Knock … Knock … Turgenev used this simile to describe a character who always felt cramped in the world.
- Turns his head from side to side, like a turtle —Margaret Atwood
- Wagged their heads like a company of cockatoos —Katherine Mansfield
- Waved her head here and there like a piece of wind-worried old orange-peel —F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The way he moved his head from side to side made him seem like some sort of a little perky bird, a goldfinch, perhaps —Roald Dahl
- Withdrew his head like a scared tortoise —Donald MacKenzie
Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.