to pull one's head in
1
9.5
- idiom
- UK
:
hacerse el sordo
- In a crowded room, it was wise for him to pull his head in and listen rather than speak out.
Examples
-
Pull your head in.
-
Roache said just pull your head in.
-
You all got to pull your heads in.
-
Wears his house on his back, pulls his head in when he feels bad vibes.
-
Roache just says pull your heads in and it'll all go away.
-
After facing criticism, he decided to pull his head in and avoid drawing attention to himself.
-
When things got heated during the debate, she chose to pull her head in instead of arguing further.
Synonyms
41
6.3
Avoid getting noticed to stay out of trouble
3
6.7
To hold back criticism or strong action to avoid hurting someone
1
9.0
To become less confident and not try as hard after problems
Antonyms
How Reserved
- Informal
14
6.6
36
3.9
108
4.2
- UK
1
9.5
44
3.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
pull + one's + head + in
The literal elements 'pull' + 'head' + 'in' create a clear physical image of drawing one's head back, so learners who know the words can likely infer a sense of withdrawing or holding back. However, the pragmatic sense 'become more reserved or cautious' is somewhat idiomatic and culturally marked (informal, British), so the specific interpersonal meaning is not fully predictable from the parts.
Etymology
The idiom pull one's head in comes from the image of someone literally pulling their head in toward their shoulders to make themselves smaller and avoid attention. That's why it now means 'become quieter or more cautious' and hold back from speaking or acting.