Sing out

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Hello...Are all the sentences below correct?Dictionary doesn’t say much about this point.**********a. She cried her eyes out.   b. She cried out her eyes.c. He sang his heart out.d. He sang out his heart.**********Maybe there is no fixed Yes and No but....And c. means “He sang out of his heart, sincerely.”?And, additionally.....e. He cooked his head off. means "He used his brain so much to cook"?f.  He cooked off his head.  means "He literally killed himself literally cooking his head"?

GPY · Accepted Answer

(a) and (c) are OK; (b) and (d) are not correct.

"sing one's heart out" means to sing with the maximum effort or emotion that one can muster.

I would interpret "sing out of one's heart" as a less usual way of saying "sing from one's heart", which, as you say, implies sincerity.

(e) doesn't sound right to me.

Literally cooking one's head seems bizarrely impossible; if I had to interpret (f), I would guess that "off his head" meant extremely intoxicated. However, it is not a very good sentence.

CalifJim · Answer

pructuse. He cooked his head off. means "He used his brain so much to cook"?

No. "his/her head off" means "intensely, enthusiastically, for a long time".

She screamed her head off. (She kept screaming very loudly.)

In expressions like "his head off" or "her eyes out", the adverb (off, out) cannot be moved from its position at the end. The possessive (his, her, etc.) has to match the subject (he, she, etc.).

Of course, these can't be taken literally. A literal interpretation is sometimes not only impossible, but amusing: He ran his legs off.

The assistant chef was given the task of chopping ten pounds of onions, carrots, and celery, and dinner was in an hour. So to get dinner ready in time, he had to chop his head off.

CJ

Pructus · Answer

I see.... I see....
Thanks so much, GPY!!

And also, thanks so much, BarbaraPA for the verification!!

Pructus · Answer

I see... I see...
Thanks so much, CJ!!

This is so resourceful and gives me things to ponder about.
Reading your explanations, "He cooked his legs off" popped up in my mind...
Is this also possible, meaning "He cooked in the standing position so long time that his legs hurt."?

And why do you natives say, "He cooked his head off", when this expression has nothing to do with "head"?
From a totally non-native's sense, "He cooked his hands off", or "He cooked his legs off" sounds more natural, meaning his hands or legs hurt from excessive cooking, because he would use his hands or legs to cook fiercely.

"He chopped his hands off" seems more natural than "He chopped his head off" to a non-native...

CalifJim · Answer

pructus"He cooked his legs off" popped up in my mind...Is this also possible, meaning "He cooked in the standing position so long time that his legs hurt."?

I don't think most natives would understand it because cooking, in contrast to running, doesn't involve the use of the legs primarily. I mean even disabled people in wheelchairs can cook, so we don't easily think of legs when we think of cooking. The only one that is not so specific is "his head off", so it would make more sense to a native if you said "cooked his head off".

CJ

Pructus · Answer

How about....

a. He talked his head off.

b. He talked my head off.

*********

1. a. means "He talked too much" and b. means "He bored me by talking too much unnecessary things"?

2. And from googling I found an explanation suggesting "talk your head off = talk to your heart's content".
Is this suggestion true?

3. I found below....
"He watches her head off" here means "He watches her go to sleep"?

He watches her head off into the night. He remains, alone, in his tuxedo, looking at the elegant glittering arts plaza.

CalifJim · Answer

pructus1. a. means "He talked too much" and b. means "He bored me by talking too much ~~unnecessary things~~"?

Correct. It's less usual to have a mismatch between subject and possessive: He talked my head off.

pructusI found an explanation suggesting "talk your head off = talk to your heart's content".Is this suggestion true?

Those expressions are close in meaning, but not exactly the same.

talk your head off = talk too much; keep talking and talking
talk to your heart's content = talk as much as you would like to talk

pructusHe watches her head off into the night. He remains, alone, in his tuxedo, looking at the elegant glittering arts plaza.

He watches her head off into the night. = He watches her as she [heads off / leaves] [into the night / receding into the darkness].

Here 'to head off' is to start going, to leave. It has nothing whatsoever to do with 'his/her head off' meaning intensity. So this is not that he's watching with great intensity. He simply sees her leave, and as she walks away, she becomes more difficult to see because it's night.

CJ

Pructus · Answer

Oh, I see.... I see....
Now it's all clear to me....
Thanks so much, CJ!!

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