Nuances between 差し出す, 突き出す, and 出す

Question

I know 出す obviously has a broad set of meanings, 突き出す can mean "to hand over" or "to push out," and 差し出す can also mean "to submit," but when each are used roughly in the "hold/stick out" meaning, what are there nuances? For example, how do these differ:

手を出す

手を差し出す

手を突き出す

Or these:

首を出す

首を差し出す

首を突き出した

Beyond the nuances within these examples, are there certain words in this usage that only really work with some of them but not the others?

Answer 1

All 6 phrases are possible in appropriate contexts.

• 手を出す has several figurative meanings.
• 手を出す in the literal sense is close to 手を差し出す. But they are not completely interchangeable. E.g., 手を出して=Give me your hands (I'll hand something over); 手を差し出して is not idiomatic.
• 首を出す only means the literal sense which is close to 首を突き出す. Both usually mean sticking out your head.
• 首を差し出す usually means figuratively to sacrifice somebody (cf. 差し出す＃2). It may literally mean to submit a severed head in fictions.

---

FYI 顔を出す means figuratively to drop by. 顔を突き出す is used less idiomatically meaning the same as 首を突き出す. 顔を差し出す is not really possible.