The story
Picture a turtle tucked safely inside its shell. To see anything, it has to push its head out into the open, where it can be spotted. That is one popular explanation for “stick your neck out”: the brave little creature who leaves safety to take a look.
Another story points to the farmyard. A chicken that stretches its neck out at the wrong moment, the story goes, gets itself into trouble. One dictionary of clichés favored that picture, though no one has proved either one.
What we do know is that the saying is American slang. Word sources say it came into use by the 1920s, and it later crossed the ocean. In 1960, the English writer P. G. Wodehouse had a character decide “there was no sense in sticking one’s neck out.”
Over time the phrase has softened. It still means taking a risk, but today it is often a compliment: the person who sticks their neck out is the one who speaks up first, vouches for a friend or tries something new.
