swell / be proud

[angelsrolls]

Hello,

"Don't swell (=Don't be proud)"

Can "swell" be used in this sense?

 

[emsr2d2]

No.

We sometimes say that someone's head swells but it's usually used in a negative sense, because it's swelling with misplaced pride or because the person is just a little bit too proud of something they've done.

You might hear "Don't let your head swell too much!" in a joking way. Even more sarcastically, we say things like "If you're not careful, your head won't fit through the door!"

 

[Tdol]

I certainly haven't heard it. I have heard things like swell-head and Emsr2d2's version, but not this. I don't know if it has entered young people's slang, but it hasn't reached my ears.