Vocabulary: Build

Words to describe height:

he’s a giant (of a man) / she’s an Amazon / extremely tall / tallish / above average height / below average height / on the short side / short / tiny / a midget / knee-high to a grasshopper / an ant

Words to describe build:

medium build he’s / she’s got a good figure he’s/she’s well-built

When there’s more of you:

stocky / plump / corpulent/ built like a barrel/ traditionally built / he’s as square/ big /round as he’s tall / obese / overweight / squat / muscular

When there’s less of you:

petite / thin / skinny / like a pipe cleaner / there’s nothing of her / like a lamp-post

/ puny-looking / slight and slender / slim / all skin and bones / there’s more fat on a chip

Hair:

Him: thick (jet) black hair / curly brown hair / a crew cut – an early skinhead / long sideboards / spikey shoulder-length hair / wavy / swept back / with a side parting / neat style with a fringe / a few grey hairs his hair’s receding /, distinguished but he’s balding / he’s trying a toupee / completely bald

Her: a few mousy strands / hair in bunches fastened with slides, grips and ribbons / hair in plaits / otherwise completely straight / in a bun / back-combed, with a ponytail / January: she’s a blonde / March: she’s a brunette / May: she’s a redhead (she’s got auburn hair) / July: she’s ash-blonde / October: she’s dyed it pink frizzy / slightly streaked / combed forward / a few highlights / she’s greying / her hair’s thinning / so she’s experimenting with a wig / her hair’s going white fast / the wig’s matted / unmanageable, so she has a blue rinse

Face:

high or lined forehead / rosy or hollow cheeks / double or pointed chin / false or long eyelashes / bushy or pencil-thin eyebrows / snub or hook (or Roman) nose / cauliflower or pierced ears / piercing or hazel eyes / square or upper jaw / thick or cherry lips / wide or mean mouth

Facial actions:

smack your lips / raise your eyebrows / prick up your ears / mouth something / flutter your eyelashes / purse your lips / blow your nose / puff out your cheeks / turn your nose up

Facial features:

lines, wrinkles / a wart / bags under the eyes / a beauty spot / freckles / a mole (a birthmark) / a(cold) sore / a stye (näärännäppy) / spots, pimples / dimples / a boil / a scar

Problems with your head, neck and face:

a stiff neck / a sore throat / bloodshot eyes / eyestrain / a headache or migraine / toothache, sore gums / an ulcer in the mouth / a runny nose or / a blocked-up nose / a black eye, swollen lips / a nosebleed / feeling giddy or dizzy / concussion

A bad week:

On Monday, I singed my eyebrows while trying to light the gas-cooker / On Tuesday, I grazed my chin and scratched my cheek on a revolving door / On Wednesday, I banged my head when I walked into a door / On Thursday, I chipped one of my front teeth when I fell on the ice / On Friday, I knocked the other front tooth out when I fell on the ice again / On Sunday, I scalded my face with my shaving water , split my lip open eating one of my wife’s rock-cakes , came out in a rash because of something I’d eaten and had earache for some reason or other

Many parts of the body are verbs as well as nouns:

thumb through a book / thumb a lift / hand someone a pen / palm someone off with something second-rate / elbow your way through the crowd / shoulder responsibility / finger a document

The Torso:

Her bust is 38″,his chest is40″. / She’s got a 24″ waist. His waist is 32″. / She measures 40″ round the hips. His inside leg measurement is 32″. / I’ve got a stomach-ache, a bad back, and a pain in my abdomen. / Hasn’t he got a fat belly? / Were you breast-fed as a baby? / Let the baby sit on my lap. / My bottom aches from sitting down all day. / The belly-dancer had a bare stomach except for the pearl in her navel (tummy button).