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Does "Her hair was tied back in a neat bow." look like this picture when her hair is in a bow?

back of a woman's head showing her hair made into a bow shape

or look like this picture when she used the ribbon to tie her hair and the ribbon is in a bow?

view of a woman's long hair showing the front section tied back with a ribbon

Picture Credit: https://www.hairandmakeupbysteph.com/inquire

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  • 2
    Usually it's the ribbon that's tied in a bow.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Nov 15, 2023 at 9:25
  • 1
    It's also common to say "Her hair was tied back in a ribbon", but you could use "with a bow/ribbon".
    – Stuart F
    Commented Nov 15, 2023 at 10:31
  • That top picture looks like a recipe for trouble!
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Nov 15, 2023 at 10:33
  • @MichaelHarvey, can I say "I tied the box in a bow"?
    – Tom
    Commented Nov 15, 2023 at 12:01
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    No, but you can say I tied a string or ribbon around the box with a bow.
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 15, 2023 at 12:45

1 Answer 1

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Her hair was tied back in a bow commonly conveys “by means of a bow (made of ribbon or the like).” It can equally idiomatically be restated as Her hair was tied back with a bow.

It wouldn’t be wrong to use your sentence to describe your first photo, but that interpretation would come as a surprise to most listeners or readers. To describe the situation shown in the photo, one would normally say it differently. Maybe something like

  • Her hair was formed into a bow in back
  • Her hair was done into a bow shape in back, or
  • She wore her hair itself tied as a bow.

These longer versions provide the more precise descriptions to highlight the unusualness of that hairstyle.

I hasten to add, though, that it’s perfectly idiomatic to say things like

  • Her hair was pulled back in a braid and
  • She wore her hair tied back in a bun.

But in those cases it’s understood that there’s no device involved. Just the hair itself.

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  • Yes, but not: She wore her hair itself tied as a bow. It would not work because hair is too slippery for that. It is indeed formed or done into a bow.
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 19, 2023 at 14:50
  • Interesting assertion, @Lambie, in its being made unconditionally and in its being in error. My wife would happily tell you about the women she knows who could pull that sort of thing off (no pun intended) using nothing at all besides their natural hair.
    – Paul Tanenbaum
    Commented Nov 19, 2023 at 23:02
  • See how she uses an elactic band? It cannot just be done with the person's hair. youtube.com/watch?v=jn_t4tSY-wQ The lady doing it even refers to the "top pony [tail]" and the botton one. Anyone who has had long hair knows this.
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 20, 2023 at 15:59
  • Why the need to express yourself so unconditionally, @Lambie? “It cannot just be done with the person’s hair”? “Anyone who has had long hair knows that”? Do you assert as a violation of the very laws of physics the possibility that two handfuls of some womens’ long hair can, just like two shoelaces, be formed into a bow? Do you have tribological data to support such an assertion? My wife does have empirical evidence from having observed women achieve similar feats.
    – Paul Tanenbaum
    Commented Nov 20, 2023 at 16:09
  • Tom always asks questions which he believes will trip us up. If a bow could be tied using only the person's real hair, don't you think I would know about it, as I am a woman who had very long hair for many years, and that there would be "tons" of examples on Utube etc.? Empirical evidence? Goodness... Hair is slippery and needs something to hold it in place ....It will not stay in place on its own. Why does it annoy you that I might know more about long hair than you?
    – Lambie
    Commented Nov 20, 2023 at 16:24

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