Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hand someone their head

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.01 in modern English

Syllables
hand -some-one their -head
IPA
33
Scrabble Score
20
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To kill, especially by beheading.

verb

To destroy; to defeat utterly.

Etymology

Possibly an allusion to the story of Salome demanding the head of John the Baptist in a charger.

Inflected Forms

hands someone their head (present, singular) handing someone their head (participle, present) handed someone their head (participle, past) handed someone their head (past) hand someone their head on a plate (alternative) hand someone their head on a platter (alternative)

Phrases

give someone their head

Frequently Paired Words

give someone their head

Questions

What does hand someone their head mean?
To kill, especially by beheading.
Where does hand someone their head come from?
Possibly an allusion to the story of Salome demanding the head of John the Baptist in a charger.

How to pronounce hand someone their head

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hand someone their head”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “hand someone their head”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “hand someone their head” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.