look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

UK /ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹuː‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɜːdz/US /ˌlʊk‿əz‿ɪf ˈwʌn həz bɪn ˈdɹæɡd θɹu‿ə hɛd͡ʒ ˈbækwɝdz/

verb1

•
(UK, informal) To look extremely dishevelled.
- "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

forms

looked as if one had been dragged through a hedge backwards · looking as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards · looks as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards