I’m still having fun thinking of idioms that involve parts of the body, and this time it’s all about ears! Perhaps a little less active than the nose, but ears give us lots of input about our surroundings and let us know how other people are feeling.

If you’ve missed any of the other posts about body-related phrases you can find them here.

  • To keep your ear to the ground = to pay attention, perhaps with the aim of finding something out
  • To put a flea in someone's ear = To tell them off
  • To prick up your ears = To start listening very carefully
  • To give someone an earful = To tell them off
  • To not be able to believe your ears = To find something really surprising or unlikely
  • An ear worm = A song or piece of music you can't get out of your heard
  • Little jugs have big ears = Children are good at hearing things they're not supposed to
  • Walls have ears = You never know who might be listening
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