Table 1. Body terms and metaphors
BODY: disembodied; em--; -- of (knowledge; water; work); politic
HEAD: ache, big, blow brains out; brainy; bursting, cool, dense; fat; foggy; fuzzy; good; have -- examined; like a hole in the --; hot; -- in a good space; into your --; light; migraine; numbskull; pig; poor -- for; reaching a --; shit; splitting; stuffed; swelled/swollen; thick (head; skull)
MIND: blow; brainless; closed; deep; dreaming; drifting; --ful; fuzzy; --less; keeping in--; losing one's--; muzzy; nervous (wreck); of two --s; open; out of one's --; shallow; sleeping on decision; sticks in my --; thinker; thinking straight; thoughtful; thoughtless
NERVE(S): find; high strung; lost; nerveless; -- of steel; nervous; nervy; rattled; raw; shaken; shattered; shot; some --; taut; tense; up tight; unnerving; wound up; wracked
BROW: beaten; furrowed; sweating; wrinkled
FACE/EXPRESSION: angelic; beatific; blanched; bland; blank; blushing; bright; chin up; closed; cloudy; crazed; distant; distracted; dog; flushed; friendly; frowning; glaring; happy; hateful; intense; jocular; kissy; moody; new; open; pale; Pale--; poker; red; rosy; sad; smiley; stone; stormy; sour; --the inevitable/music; thoughtful; two--; white; wishful; wistful
EYES: black; blank; bleary; blinded; bright; burning with desire; clouded; cried my -- out; crinkled; cross-eyed (with tiredness or overwork); don't want to see; empty; flash (came to me in a blink of an --); clear; cross-eyed; far away look; hawk--; scathing glance (look); keen; nobody home; red-eyed; sad; can't see straight; seeing (is believing; the light); sharp; shriveled under gaze; shut--; sight for sore --; staring; steely; tearful; tearjerker; twinkling; weeping -- out;
NOSE: bent (pushed) out of shape; big; blocked; bloody; brown --; cut off to spite face; gets up my --; nosy; Pinocchio; sniffs out; snooty; snotty; sticking -- into someone's business; stuffed
EARS: cloth; deaf; don't want to hear that; --ful; keen; musical; sensitive; sharp; sounds (don�t like the -- of that; good/bad)
MOUTH: big; bigger than stomach; bite (has a -- to it; lip; -- off more than can chew; tongue); biting (remark; wind); chew (lip; on; up); fat lip; foot in --; chew on that; get chops around a situation; keep your -- shut; loose tongue; puckered lips; pursed lips; sharp tongue; well, shut my --; shut up; slip of the tongue; smile; sour taste; speak (clearly; up); speechless; spit it out; stiff upper lip; tastes (bad, bitter, good, sharp, sour, sweet); teeth on edge; tight lipped; stuck tongue out at; tongue in cheek; tongue tied; toothless; voice (cool; crooning; grating; piercing; warm)
NECK: full up to my --; pain in the --; sticking -- out; stiff
THROAT: can't swallow down; choking on--; choked up; cough up; craw full; full up to--; sticks in my --; (can't; hard to) swallow that; swallow down (feelings; insults; pride; sorrow)
CHEST: get it off --; puffed out
BREASTS: generous; giving; milk of human kindness; nurturing; weaning
LUNGS: breathe easy; blow (cool; gasket; hot and cold; it; off steam; stack; temper); blown away; can't breathe; catch one's breath; cough up; froze; holding one's breath; puffing; take a breather; take a deep breath; wheezing along
HEART: ache; attack; big; bleeding; blood boiling; blood pressure up; break; cold; cross your -- and hope to die; cruel; eating my -- out; empty; -- felt; frozen; full; --less; generous; good; have a --; heartened; -- to heart talk; large; --less; light; lonely; open; palpitated; pierced; pressured; pure; --rending; sticks in my --; shaken to the core of my --; shut down; sick; skipped a beat; sticks in my --; stopped; swelled; warm; warmed; weighing on --; -- went out to
BLOOD: bad; bleeding heart; --feud; --letting; bloody; -- brother/sister; cold --; froze; in my --; red blooded; spilled; thin --; warm --;
STOMACH: assimilate; bellyaching; belly full; belly laugh; burns; can�t --; digest; eaten up with anger; eating away at; eating (heart out; words); full (of it; up to); glutton (for punishment); going to pot; gut feeling; gutsy; hungry for�; indigestion; in knots; lies heavy in gut; like a rock; rumbling; sick to --; sensitive; soured; spill guts; stewing; hard to stomach; stuffed; swollen; tears one's guts apart; want to (could) vomit;
SPLEEN: --ful; splenetic; venting--;
LIVER: bilious; jaundiced; liverish;
KIDNEYS/BLADDER: holding back; big/little pisher; pissed drunk; pissed/peed off; wet knickers/pants;
WOMB/OVARIES: birthing (idea; project); broody; good flow; knocked up; menstrual (pre-, post); pregnant (expectation, pause)
PENIS/TESTES: balls (has, no); balled/balls-up; big balls; cock-(around; half --ed; up); (+ imprecations)
VAGINA (imprecations) SEX: coming on; fuck (--er; --ed up; off); laid off; loose; orgasmic; oversexed; pimp; sexy; sleazy; sowing (and reaping) wild oats; turned on; undersexed; whore
ANUS/BUTTOCKS: ass; asshole; bum; butt (in, out); constipated; eliminate; fart; fat; holding (back; in, tight); jelly belly; pain in--; it all ran out of me; shit (head, hot, face; in pants); soft as a baby�s bottom; squidgy; tight ass
BACK: -- against the wall; --breaking; --up; backed into it; bent (over backwards, all out of shape); get one's -- up; --off; pat on --; pain in --; sit up and pay attention; stiff
ARMS/HANDS: biting the hand that feeds you; black/brown thumb; cold hands/warm heart; pain in the elbow; even handed; fighting tooth and nail; fingering; fumbling; giving the finger; green thumb; ham fisted; heavy handed; lend/lift a hand; living hand to mouth; light fingered; limp wrist; nimble fingers; on the one/other hand; raised a fist/hand; rule of thumb; sharp elbows; shook (finger; fist; hands); shrugging off; sticky fingers; stiff arm; strong arm; thumbnail sketch; all thumbs; thumbs up; tight fisted; two left hands; wash your hands of -
LEGS/FEET: Achilles' heel; best foot forward; cold feet; down at the heels; went out feet first; flat footed; footing bills; foot in (grave, it; mouth); foot loose; leaving footprints in the clay of your being; grounded; kicking (the bucket; habit; myself; up a fuss); knees (turned to jelly; weak); on the ground; outstanding; run (amok; away; in family; loose); shot self in foot; stand (can't--; last--; make a--; -- firm; --tall); stepping out; sticking a foot out; stood up; stumblefoot; stand (alone; firm; proud; take a --; tall; together; --up; --up and be counted); two left feet; twinkle toes; walking a (narrow; straight) line; well heeled
MUSCLES: aching; bearing up; can't bear; burdened; carrying a burden/load/weight; flexible; frozen; hang loose; overburdened; pull self together; rigid (with fear); rooted to the spot; runs (amok; cold; hot; in family); (having) shakes; stiff; in stitches; supple; up tight; (sick and) tired; weighed down; wobblies; wound up
SPINE/SKELETON: being straight; burdened; can't bear it; carrying (a load; too much); chill went up my --; crooked; feel it in my bones; rigid; shivers up --; shoulder up; spine chilling; can't stand --; stooped over; stooping to; stretched (too far; to breaking point); all twisted up; unsupported; uplifting; weighs down;
SKIN: allergic to�; blushed; breaking out; burning up; made my -- creep; flaky; flushed; itching to; pale; picking (at; on); pimply; red faced; thick; thin; ticklish; tore my -- out;
HAIR: bad hair day; bristled; got someone by the short and curlies; hackles rose; hair turned grey; pulling my hair out; stood on end TOUCH: aching to--; easy touch; smooth touch; tetched; tickled; touched; touching; touchy; untouchable
FEEL: bad; calm; emotional (overcome); feelings (bury, frenzied, good, hide, hurts to�; uplifting), smooth; like square peg in round hole; tied up;
SPACE/DIRECTION: ambivalent; right direction; unable to move; moving; spaced out; don't know which end is up; upside down; up tight; tears/rips (apart; up); turned around; upside down;
BALANCE: balanced; on an even keel; flipped out; im--; lost --; off one's rocker; pushover; set me back; stand firm; un--; upset
FIGHT: for (attention; beliefs; life; rights)
TEMPERATURE: boiling (at the -- point; blood --; mad); burning (mad; with desire); catch cold; cold (blood; temper); cool headed; froze (with fear); hot (and cold; anger; blood; for; head; temper; to go; to start; to trot); steaming; stewing
DEATH: cry oneself to --; dead (end; heat; on my feet; roll over and play); --of me; (nearly) died of (embarrassment; fright; shame); doing me in; dying to; end of me; ending up; .killing me; nearly died; scared to --; sick to --; slays me; wish I was dead
(List taken from Benor, DJ, Healing Research, Volume 2 Popular edition: How Can I Heal What Hurts? Medford, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2005)