Physical appearance

Here is a bank of useful words and expressions that we often use when we want to describe
somebody's physical appearance. Use your dictionary to make sure you understand what they
all mean, then use the words and expressions to write a description of yourself or somebody
you know well. There is an example to give you a few ideas.

Build:

tall short of medium / average height/  fat/  overweight/  slim/  thin/  of medium/average
build / well-built

Hair:

short/  long/  dark / blond / red / shoulder-length / straight / curly/  wavy / a parting / a
fringe / spiky / bald / thinning / fair-haired

Age:

young / old / middle-aged / elderly / a baby / a toddler / a teenager / in his early twenties / in
my mid-thirties/  in her late fifties

Facial features and characteristics:

wrinkles / weather-beaten / dimples / spots / freckles / beard / moustache

Nose:

hooked / turned-up / sharp  /bulbous

Skin colour:

tanned fair-/ pale- / dark-skinned a fair / pale / dark complexion

Other expressions:

a double chin / a generous mouth / long eyelashes / thin eyebrows / bushy eyebrows / broad
shoulders / well-developed muscles

Example.

My brother's in his early-thirties. He's of average height and a bit overweight, with a double chin.
He's got short, dark, curly hair (which is thinning slightly), a rather untidy beard and moustache,
and big, bushy eyebrows. He's got quite a fair complexion. When he smiles, he has dimples on his
cheeks, and he gets freckles when he goes out in the sun.

There are lots of English idiomatic and colloquial expressions which use parts of the body.
Complete the expressions in bold below with a word from the box. Some of the words can be used more than once.

fingers • nose • toe • muscle • chest • neck • elbow
ear • chin • foot • eye • hand • back • thumb • shoulder

1. He gave me a __________ with the washing-up.
2. They had been going out together for some time, and then she suddenly gave him the __________ .
3. Don't worry. I wasn't being serious. I was only pulling your __________ .
4. I hoped she would give me a friendly welcome, but in fact she gave me the cold __________ .
5. Poor old Peter is dominated by his wife! She's got him under her _________ .
6. Can you keep an ________ out for the traffic warden while I go into the bank?
7. He's always annoying me! He's such a pain in the ________ .
8. He really put his ________ in it when he said his boss's wife was too fat: she was standing right behind him!
9. She thinks she's better than other people and always looks down her ________ at them.
10. Make sure you follow what is happening. Keep your ________ to the ground.
11. Good luck in the exam. I'll be keeping my ________ crossed for you.
12. I know things are going badly, but keep your ________ up and try to remain cheerful.
13. We get on well, even though we don't always see ________ to ________.
14. You must obey the rules. You have to ________ the line.
15. If something is worrying you, talk to me about it. You'll feel much better if you get it off your
________.
16. He makes me so angry. He always manages to get my ________ up.
17. He interferes all the time. He's always trying to ________ in on our projects and get all the credit for them.
18. Mind your own business! Stop sticking your ________ in!