give someone his head: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  Englishliteralarchaicrare
  • To hand a person's physical head to someone; used only in literal or macabre contexts and largely archaic.

  Examples

  Beta

  • In the old crime novel, the villain was caught and the detective gave him his head as proof.

    En la antigua novela de crimen, el villano fue capturado y el detective le entregó su cabeza como prueba.

  • During the grim medieval ritual, the executioner gave the condemned his head after the beheading.

    Durante el sombrío ritual medieval, el verdugo entregó la cabeza del condenado tras la decapitación.

  • The soldier was ordered to give the enemy’s leader his head to confirm the victory.

    Al soldado se le ordenó entregar la cabeza del líder enemigo para confirmar la victoria.

  • Legend has it that the warrior gave his foe his head as a warning to others.

    La leyenda dice que el guerrero entregó la cabeza de su enemigo como advertencia para otros.

• 2.

  British EnglishAmerican Englishinformalidiomatic
  • To allow someone freedom to act or decide as they wish; to give free rein.

  Examples

  Beta

  • The new manager decided to give the team his head, trusting them to make independent decisions.

    El nuevo gerente decidió dar libertad al equipo, confiando en que tomaran decisiones independientes.

  • If you give her her head, she might come up with an innovative solution to the problem.

    Si le das libertad para actuar, podría encontrar una solución innovadora al problema.

  • We were given our head during the project, which allowed us to explore creative ideas without constant oversight.

    Nos dieron libertad durante el proyecto, lo que nos permitió explorar ideas creativas sin supervisión constante.