scratching hair or playing with hair

Question

If I want to say that: I will be listening to the lecture being delivered carefully and won't be busy scratching body parts, hair or beard,etc showing that I am not attentive to the lecture, can I say:

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I will avoid playing unnecessarily with clothes, body parts, or hair of beard or head...

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What image appears in a native's mind when he hears the sentence mentioned above?

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Secondly, would you native add 'hair of' before the word 'beard' if you meant that you are scratching beard? I mean, doesn't the word 'beard' itself mean 'hair of beard'?

Answer 1

The sentence, as you've written it, is understandable but sounds a little clumsy. I would remove the word "unnecessarily" because it's never necessary to engage in these behaviors. I would also tweak the words a bit:

I will avoid playing with my clothes, body parts, beard, or hair.

At this point, the sentence is correct, but the word "body parts" sounds a little strange in this context. Personally, I would write:

I will avoid fidgeting with my clothes, picking at my skin, chewing my nails, and scratching my beard or my head.

(Normally, we say "scratch one's head" and "play with one's hair". We don't say, "scratch one's hair".)

Stylistically, this is still a bit awkward and puts a lot of emphasis on the various behaviors that the speaker is trying to avoid. It might be better to just say:

I will listen to the lecture attentively and avoid fidgeting.

In answer to your second question, "beard" is clear enough by itself. You don't have to say, "hair of beard," as you would in certain other languages.