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Glite Dictionary
to fall on someone's neck

to fall on someone's neck

7.2
Hug someone tightly because you feel very happy or relieved
  • idiom
translation icon : abrazar
  • As soon as he saw his sister at the airport, he fell on her neck and began to cry.

Examples

  • Overcome with relief, she fell on his neck when he returned safely.

  • The children fell on their mother's neck after being apart for a year.

  • Don't fall on my neck!

  • When I saw him again, I fell on his neck with joy.

  • As soon as he saw his sister at the airport, he fell on her neck and began to cry.

  • Overcome with relief, she fell on his neck when he returned safely.

  • The children fell on their mother's neck after being apart for a year.

Synonyms

to hug
vsto fall on someone's neck
336 1.0

To hold someone tightly in your arms to show care

is more enthusiastic and often feels emotionally stronger
to embrace
vsto fall on someone's neck
142 2.8

To hold someone tightly to show affection

is more enthusiastic and shows stronger emotion when greeting
to squeeze
vsto fall on someone's neck
72 1.0

To hold someone tightly in your arms to show affection

is more enthusiastic and longer rather than a brief tight hold

Antonyms

to reject
839 1.9

Refuse to accept someone or something

to turn away
94 2.3

Move your body so you do not face someone or something

How Affectionate

to fall on someone's neck
7.2
to hug
336 1.0
to pat
110 1.0

Surface Forms

fall on someone's neck infinitive
falling on someone's neck present participle
falls on someone's neck third person singular
fell on someone's neck past
fallen on someone's neck past participle

Morphology

fall + on + someone's + neck

The image of literally 'falling on someone's neck' evokes a sudden, close physical contact (a hug), so a learner who knows 'fall', 'on' and 'neck' can often infer the general idea of an embrace. However the phrase is partly metaphorical/idiomatic (not a literal fall) and carries an emotional nuance that is not fully predictable from the parts alone, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

The phrase fall on someone's neck shows someone running to another person and throwing their arms around the other person's neck, almost falling into a hug. That's why it means 'to embrace someone enthusiastically'.