Hug Back

[ayed]

Hello, folks, again..
Today, it seems that I am posting more questions than usual .
Suppose that there is a husband wrapped his arms around his wife's waist( without any intent )and dragged her closer to his chest That is, he hugged her back.
My question is this:
What is best to describe this situation:
1.He hugged her back
2.He hugged back her
3.He hugged her from behind
Very appreciated are your suggestions.

My best regards

Ayed

 

[Will5]

1 or 3 works well depending on whether hugged her from behind or not.

 

[Loob]

"Back" here would normally mean the action was reciprocated: she hugged him and he hugged her back.

I think "from behind" is probably what you're looking for, although I find the phrase he hugged her from behind has slight overtones of he took her from behind. That may just be my nasty dirty mind at work: let's see what others think...

 

[LouisaB]

Hi, ayed,

You need to be careful about this one. 'Hugged her back' suggests she hugged him first and he responded.
If your context makes clear he is behind her, all you need to say is 'he hugged her to him' or 'he hugged her close to his chest'. If it doesn't, you need to establish that first, eg 'He wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her close'. This sounds like a tender rather than a sexual moment, and you need to reflect that in how you express it. What's the sentence before?

Louisa

 

[Nunty]

I agree with LouisaB and I think Loob just has a dirty mind I dont' see any sexual connotation here. Another way to phrase it might be "He came up to her from behind and hugged her."

 

[Loob]

I'd be very happy with your alternative, Nun-T!

You're probably right

 

[ayed]

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions .

Can I say :
I hugged my child from behind ; meaning that I had him curled up in my lap?

 

[Nunty]

I would call that "cuddling" my child.