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Does a head burst or break?



 
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Does a head burst or break? #1 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 19:38 pm   Does a head burst or break?		  
Hi

Could you please tell me if a flying stone bursts a child's head or breaks--I mean, which word should I use? Which ones do you find correct and natural?
Quote:
1- He swiped his stick breaking the child's head.
2- He swiped his stick bursting the child's head.


Quote:
3- He had his head burst in the fight.
4- He had his head broken in the fight.


Quote:
5- The stone burst open his head.


Many thanks

Tom
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Does a head burst or break? #2 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 19:58 pm   Does a head burst or break?		  
Tom wrote:
Quote:
1- He swung his stick breaking the child's head.
No, it would be more typical to say 'breaking the child's skull'.
2- He swiped his stick bursting the child's head. 'Swiped' is not a good word to use -- especially in combination with 'burst'. Using the word 'burst' sounds as though something flew explosively out of the child's head (the child's brains, for example). Something like that would also require explosive force -- which the word 'swipe' doesn't really convey.

Quote:
3- He had his head burst in the fight. His skull was fractured/broken...
4- He had his head broken in the fight. (see 3)

Quote:
5- The stone burst open his head.
Are you referring only to skin rather than bone?

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Does a head burst or break? #3 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 20:05 pm   Does a head burst or break?		  
Quote:
Are you referring only to skin rather than bone? YES

If a child throws a small stone at me which hits me on the forehead causing the skin to break open (with a loss of blood), how should I describe this?
Quote:
The stone ________ my forehead.

When police carry? a baton charge, many people have their heads __________?

Tom
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Does a head burst or break? #4 (permalink) Sun Mar 30, 2008 20:34 pm   Does a head burst or break?		  
Does a head burst or break?

A head would break, not burst.

A blood vessel would burst.

Englishmajor
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Does a head burst or break? #5 (permalink) Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:34 am   Does a head burst or break?		  
I would say fractured his skull or the stone broke his skull, if what you are describing is internal. Forehead is external and head sounds external so I would say he had his head split open or cut. To have your head broken or bashed in sounds more like idioms (as in "I'm going to break/bash in some heads") and fractured sounds more technical, although it is very common. -Belles
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