Assistance with British English phraseology and word usage
Hi, I have a question for any native British or UK folks.
The following is a quote from a piece of writing that I am editing for a friend:
___________
Gwen elbows him in what he is sure she believes to be a subtle manner. “What we’re trying to say,” she continues, “Is that we want to make sure that you’re alright. You’ve been sort of….erm….wound.”
“I’m fine.”
“No,” she shakes her head and a few curls fall out of her ponytail. “You aren’t. I...I don’t know what you’re going through, but you haven’t been fine since….well. In a while.”
___________
Now, the question I have concerns the end of the first line of dialogue. My writer tells me that she intends 'wound' to mean 'wound tight' not wounded/hurt/injured. She and I both recognise that there are times in the English language where words are dropped from the end of sentences, if it is well implied what the speaker means. Question: is this an appropriate phrase where a dropped word might occur for a British English speaker? Or is there some entire other way a native Brit would tell their friend that they look wound tight/stressed out?
(To make this a little more complicated, and the reason why I brought this to the comm, the character in question is actually also injured with a black eye... which has made him a bit 'wound tight'; so I feel that simply leaving 'wound' is too ambiguous, in this context.)
I do appreciate any help or insight you all can provide.
Thanks, Anna
The following is a quote from a piece of writing that I am editing for a friend:
___________
Gwen elbows him in what he is sure she believes to be a subtle manner. “What we’re trying to say,” she continues, “Is that we want to make sure that you’re alright. You’ve been sort of….erm….wound.”
“I’m fine.”
“No,” she shakes her head and a few curls fall out of her ponytail. “You aren’t. I...I don’t know what you’re going through, but you haven’t been fine since….well. In a while.”
___________
Now, the question I have concerns the end of the first line of dialogue. My writer tells me that she intends 'wound' to mean 'wound tight' not wounded/hurt/injured. She and I both recognise that there are times in the English language where words are dropped from the end of sentences, if it is well implied what the speaker means. Question: is this an appropriate phrase where a dropped word might occur for a British English speaker? Or is there some entire other way a native Brit would tell their friend that they look wound tight/stressed out?
(To make this a little more complicated, and the reason why I brought this to the comm, the character in question is actually also injured with a black eye... which has made him a bit 'wound tight'; so I feel that simply leaving 'wound' is too ambiguous, in this context.)
I do appreciate any help or insight you all can provide.
Thanks, Anna