1
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with EAR, Also see ALL EARS; BELIEVE ONE'S EARS; BEND SOMEONE'S EAR; CAN'T MAKE A SILK PURSE OUT OF SOW'S EAR; COMING OUT OF ONE'S EARS; CUTE AS A BUTTON (BUG'S EAR); FALL ON DEAF EARS; FLEA IN ONE'S EAR; HAVE SOMEONE'S EAR; IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER; LEND ONE'S EAR; MUSIC TO ONE'S EARS; OUT ON ONE'S EAR; PIN SOMEONE'S EARS BACK; PLAY BY EAR; PRICK UP ONE'S EARS; PUT A BUG IN SOMEONE'S EAR; TURN A DEAF EAR; UP TO ONE'S EARS; WALLS HAVE EARS; WET BEHIND THE EARS.
American Heritage Idioms
3
general::
ear
adjectives
big
• African elephants' ears are bigger than those of Indian elephants.
floppy
(= soft and hanging down loosely, rather than being stiff )
• a rabbit with big floppy ears
pointy/pointed
• The dog has short pointy ears.
pierced
(= with a hole in the skin where an earring can be put )
• Her new boyfriend's got long hair and pierced ears.
somebody's left/right ear
• She is deaf in her right ear.
inner/middle ear
(= the parts inside your ear, which you use to hear sounds )
• I've got an infection in my middle ear.
verbs
say/whisper something into somebody's ear
• He whispered something into his wife's ear.
have your ears pierced
(= have a hole put into the skin, so that you can wear an earring )
• I had my ears pierced when I was quite young.
somebody's ears stick out
(= they are noticeable because they do not lie flat against someone's head )
• If my hair is too short, you can see that my ears stick out.
somebody's ears pop
(= the pressure in them changes suddenly, for example when you go up or down quickly in a plane )
• My ears finally popped when the plane landed.
transnet.ir
4
general::
noun part of the body ADJ. left, right | inner, middle, outer | big, large | long a rabbit with long floppy ears | pointed/pointy | floppy | torn Blood from his torn ear was soaking his collar. | sharp His sharp ears had picked up the uncertainty in her voice. | trained To the trained ear the calls of these birds sound quite different. | listening In the silence everyone seemed to be aware of listening ears. | receptive, sympathetic She did not like the scheme, as she made clear every time she found a receptive ear (= sb willing to listen). The counsellor provided a sympathetic ear for students with problems. VERB + EAR plug He plugged his ears with tissue paper to drown out the music. | close, shut, stop At first I stopped my ears to what I did not want to hear. | strain I strained my ears to catch the conversation in the other room. | prick up The dog pricked up its ears. | flatten, lay back, put back A horse may show annoyance by putting its ears back. | pierce I've just had my ears pierced so I'm going to buy some earrings. | syringe He could hear much better after having his ears syringed. | echo in, ring in The voices buzzing all around echoed in her ears. He went home with the teacher's warning ringing in his ears. | hiss in, whisper (sth) in | reach If news of the break-in reaches the boss's ears, we're in trouble. EAR + VERB hear sth, pick sth up When the notes are played so close together the ear hears no space between them. | prick (up), twitch His ears pricked up when he heard his name mentioned. | be alert He waited in the darkness, his ears alert for the slightest sound. | strain She stood outside the room, her ears straining to hear what they were saying. | pop If you suck a sweet as the plane takes off it stops your ears popping. | ring The explosion set my ears ringing and even made me jump a bit. EAR + NOUN canal, drum, lobe | infection | plug, protector | flap, muffs She put on her ear muffs and went out into the snow. | wax PREP. in your ~ ‘Taxi?’ said a voice in my ear. PHRASES beam/grin/smile from ear to ear, can't believe your ears She actually apologized. I couldn't believe my ears! | (drop/have) a word in sb's ear Drop a quiet word in her ear about it before it's too late. | fall on deaf ears Their complaints about the poor service fell on deaf ears (= were ignored). | for sb's ears alone I have a few words for your ears alone. | keep your ears open I'll keep my ears open for a second-hand bike for you. | music to sb's ears He arrived home hungry, and the noise of saucepans from the kitchen was music to his ears. | turn a deaf ear to sth The teacher turned a deaf ear to the boy's swearing (= ignored it). | with half an ear He listened to her with only half an ear as he watched TV. ability to recognize sounds ADJ. fine, good VERB + EAR have PREP. by ~ She usually plays the guitar by ear, rather than reading the music. | ~ for He has a good ear for accents and can usually tell where a speaker comes from.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary