Word.ws English Dictionary

look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

Syllables: look as if one has been dragged through a hedge back·wards/ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹuː‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɜːdz/US/ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹu‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɝdz/

look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards verb: to look extremely dishevelled.

Verb

look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards (third-person singular simple present looks as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards, present participle looking as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards, simple past and past participle looked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards)

  1. (UK, humorous, informal, intransitive, simile) To look extremely dishevelled.
    • Bill is right, for I heard him say myself she [a racehorse] couldn't stay; he'd eat her if she won: drawn too fine; was on the go; done too much work; had a bad night, and looked as if she was dragged through a hedge backwards, and hadn't eaten a feed of corn for a month.1865, R. H. Copperthwaite, “Turf Topics”, in The Turf and the Racehorse […], London: Day and Son, […], →OCLC, pages 78–79
    • "Papa wants you in the library," she said, coldly; "but I advise you not to go downstairs till you have smoothed your hair. You look as if you had been dragged through a hedge backwards."1875, Mary Neville, “[A Little Heiress.] Chapter VI. Leaves from an Old Diary.”, in Alice Godolphin and A Little Heiress. Two Stories. […], volume II, London: Samuel Tinsley, […], →OCLC, page 57

Synonyms of look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

Forms of look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

third-person singular presentlooks as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
present participlelooking as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
past participlelooked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards
pastlooked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards

Questions about look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

What does look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards mean?
Look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards means to look extremely dishevelled.
What part of speech is look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards?
Look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards is a verb.
How do you pronounce look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards?
Look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards is pronounced /ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹuː‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɜːdz/ (UK).
What is the past tense of look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards?
The past tense of look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards is looked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards.

Words near look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards in the dictionary

  1. look alive
  2. look and feel
  3. look and feels
  4. look around
  5. look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpence
  6. look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards
  7. look as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpence
  8. look askance
  9. look at
  10. look at it this way
  11. look at me

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards.wav.

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