fix, comb your hair

Question

I'm wondering how I can tell someone they need to comb their hair.

Come on Jay, fix that hair of yours before the meeting starts.

Mother and son coming into a bakery:

Jason, fix your hair now. It seems as if you were still asleep.

I don't even know if the word fix is suitable or common for this context.

The "Word" or "expression" I'm looking for is not fix though I want to know if it is correct.

I think comb would work but it's not the one I need right now.

The word that conveys the meaning I'm looking for is the spanish false cognate for Accommodate.

I know very well this is an English only forum, but I'm running out of ideas and there may be someone who has a little knowledge of Spanish to help me find this word.

Answer 1

As a Spanish speaker, I think the word you're looking for is "tidy."

"Accommodate" as the false cognate of "Acomodar" would not work because accommodate means to find an arrangement for something/someone that is suitable for the occasion, and "Acomodar" is to "tidy up, clean up, or arrange things so they are in a tidy presentation". Therefore:

Acomódate ese cabello, que parece que sigues dormido.
Tidy up that hair. You look like you're still asleep.

"Fix" would work as it is essentially the same in meaning as "arreglar", which is also in use in some Spanish-speaking countries when it comes to hair:

Fix your hair. The meeting is about to start.

Answer 2

I'd say that fixing the hair is the goal, and combing the hair is one possible means to that end, but not the only one. Some people might "fix" their hair with their hands, possibly with some gel or wax or somesuch, or use a brush. For some people, "fixing it" might mean making it more messy, not less. Ultimately it just means to change it to look like how you want it to look, or how the speaker wants it to look (which of course might not be how the owner would prefer it to look).

So, they're not the same thing but might result in the same thing in practise, if a comb happens to be the tool of choice.

Also, "fix your hair" may possibly be more common in the USA, but I think most British people would understand the intended meaning too. It's pretty obvious what it would entail even if you'd never heard it before. (A more common phrase in the UK might be "Sort your hair out".)

Answer 3

Fix according to dictionary means to mend something that is broken. However in colloquial English, fix can be used in multiple places. "Fix your mind on one thing" would mean focus. Therefore "Fix your hair, you look like you have just woken up" means set your messy hair. This also is used in a colloquial manner.

For Spanish you can use "Su cabello, parece sólo han despertado." I have used google translator. I know nothing about Spanish. The above sentence translates to "Set your hair, you look like you have just woken up."

Answer 4

English is a peculiar language and it has many uses such as this. Fix your hair is indeed something a Brit won't say, not because it's wrong but it's the way the language is spoken, however, it's grammatically acceptable. One other example, 'What's the time by your watch?' Here 'by' seems out of place, but it is correct use. There is nothing wrong with fixing your hair, but Brits prefer to comb it anyway. Haha.