someone's hair was cut very short - jokingly

[JACEK1]

Hello all users!

I would like to ask you about how to say in English that someone's hair was cropped very short as if they were run over by a combine-harvester.

In Polish, there is a saying that sounds as follows "You look as if you were run over by a combine-harvester / as if a combine-harvester gave you very short trimming treatment".

The bolded fragments refer to the way we, in Poland, talk about someone whose hair was cropped very short.

Do you also have a similar way of expressing the idea of someone's hair being cut very short?

The precise translation of the phrase in question is "You look as if you were run over by a lawn mower".

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, I used to jokingly say What happened to you? Had a fight with a lawnmower?

Your post seems to confuse lawnmowers and combine harvesters—they're very different things! Though I suppose the humour works just as well with either.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

A couple of things come to mind:

You got scalped!

Went and had your ears lowered I see...

Ooh- whitewalls! (as in whitewall tires- This in reference to the white skin exposed at the hairline.)

 

[Paul!]

Boy, your hairstylist doesn't know when to quit, does he?

 

[Rover_KE]

I've a pretty good sense of humour, but feel very uncomfortable about the forum being used to mock a person's lifestyle choice—especially one which will have been made for a medical reason.

 

[jutfrank]

I've a pretty good sense of humour, but feel very uncomfortable about the forum being used to mock a person's lifestyle choice—especially one which will have been made for a medical reason.

Who said anything about a medical reason?

I'm sure JACEK1 is asking about a phrase to be used in the spirit of a gentle ribbing, not to cause serious offence.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can't assume that someone has had their hair cropped short for a medical reason. If it's someone you know well, you would know if that were the case and would probably not joke about it.

"Did someone attack you with a pair of scissors while you were asleep?"

 

[Rover_KE]

Who said anything about a medical reason?

I'm sure JACEK1 is asking about a phrase to be used in the spirit of a gentle ribbing, not to cause serious offence.

That was a poor choice of word on my part: I meant to say '... a choice which may have been made for a medical reason (such as to treat the scalp for a lice infestation).

We don't know what JACEK's intention is—he didn't say. Many of the above phrases go well beyond gentle ribbing.

You can't assume that someone has had their hair cropped short for a medical reason. If it's someone you know well, you would know if that were the case and would probably not joke about it.

"Did someone attack you with a pair of scissors while you were asleep?"

Why do you feel the need to joke about it anyway? People can be very touchy when it comes to remarks about their unusual hairstyle. It can be a good way to lose a friend.

Would anybody here make comments like these to a burly Hell's Angel in a bikers' bar? (If so, stand well back and make sure you're a fast runner.)

If you can't say something nice about a person's hairstyle or other aspects of their chosen appearance, the polite thing to do is say nothing.

 

[Paul!]

Not a teacher

I'm late but it's basically what ppl call "buzzcut". You can say something like that: So you got that job at BuzzCut, after all (when referring to e.g. BuzzFeed.).

 

[emsr2d2]

Not a teacher

I'm late but it's basically what [STRIKE]ppl[/STRIKE] people call a "buzzcut". You can say something like [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] this: "So you got that job at BuzzCut, after all!" ([STRIKE]when[/STRIKE] I'm making a joke by referring to [STRIKE]e.g.[/STRIKE] BuzzFeed.)

Please note my corrections above.