noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an ear/eye infection
▪
She was given antibiotics for an ear infection.
cauliflower ear
deaf in one ear
▪
The illness left her deaf in one ear.
ear drops
ear lobe
ear of corn (= the top part of this plant where the seeds grow )
▪
an ear of corn
ear trumpet
fell on unresponsive ears (= was not listened to )
▪
His warning fell on unresponsive ears .
grin from ear to ear (= grin very widely )
grin from ear to ear (= grin very widely )
middle ear
play it by ear
▪
We’ll see what the weather’s like and play it by ear .
strain your ears/eyes (= try very hard to hear or see )
▪
I strained my ears, listening for any sound in the silence of the cave.
sympathetic ear (= someone willing to listen to someone else’s problems )
▪
We hope always to provide a friendly sympathetic ear .
the discerning eye/ear (= someone who can make good judgments about art or music )
to the untutored eye/ear/mind
▪
To the untutored ear, this music sounds as if it might have been written by Beethoven.
whispered in...ear
▪
‘I’ve missed you,’ he whispered in her ear .
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
deaf
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How could people turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to the horrors that they suffered?
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The race committee turned a deaf ear to the objections of Amelia and the other fliers.
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Arguments that some of the skills practised by pupils are obsolete fall on deaf ears , or are heeded only very slowly.
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Invitations by Paredes to the various governors to second his plan fell on deaf ears .
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In such cases, tests show that only the ear on the side of the blue eye is deaf .
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Fine words, but they are falling on increasingly deaf and indifferent ears .
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They formulated a programme of demands, but these fell on deaf ears in Petrograd.
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But my suggestions fell on deaf ears .
inner
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I could not deny what I heard with my inner ear .
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Now that Kwong could see, he found redness in the inner ear , a sign of infection.
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There are various causes of damage to the inner ear - for example, exposure to loud noise.
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Vibrations or sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate and these vibrations move through the middle ear to the inner ear.
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As age increases, the inner ear becomes less sensitive to high frequencies.
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In the inner ear they are changed into electrical messages.
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The head vein is dotted, the labyrinth of the inner ear is black.
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I heard in my inner ear what I wanted to hear and the rest ... well, it went down!
left
▪
In his left ear he wore a small ring.
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He wore a blue baseball cap backward and a gold hoop in his left ear .
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Then he leaned forward and whispered something into his left ear .
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A cherry bomb had blown up near her left ear when she was eight years old.
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She dug the nail of her little finger deeply in behind the left ear .
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Tilt the head until your left ear is over the left shoulder, then release.
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The knot in his tie was somewhere up behind his left ear .
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The bloody gash behind his left ear had been cut with a machete.
middle
▪
When the cause of deafness is not solely in the outer and/or middle ear , high frequencies are likely to be affected.
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In fact, an ear infection alone can cause sudden severe pain as fluid builds up in the middle ear.
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Removal can cause unnecessary complications to the middle and internal ear .
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Vibrations or sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate and these vibrations move through the middle ear to the inner ear.
▪
Mean hearing thresholds are related mainly to the presence or absence of fluid in the middle ear .
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Three rats in the low fibre diet group suffered from middle ear infections and were removed from the study.
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An inflammation in the middle ear called otitis media can cause temporary or even permanent hearing loss.
▪
Microtympanometry, a sensitive method of diagnosing effusions of the middle ear , could help them in this.
right
▪
Luckily the timely intervention of Trevor Proby's left boot into my right ear quickened everyone's resolve to reach a compromise.
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He slammed one callused finger into his right ear .
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Her biro was stuck behind her right ear .
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Jack settled next to my right ear after giving the cab a brief whirl or two.
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He was due to be put down because he did not have the right ears for a show class pedigree corgi.
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He lowered the volume inside his right ear and made the few careful steps from his room into the hall.
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From her right ear there dangled a long silver cascade of tiny orbs.
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Next to her right ear she could hear his breath, a shallow snuffle.
sympathetic
▪
His profession would surely mean that he would listen to my request with a sympathetic ear .
▪
For all of its own bureaucratic strictures, the diplomatic corps had the sympathetic ears that Liang was looking for.
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The general wards were packed with acute cases and, although I received a sympathetic ear , no one really wanted to know.
▪
If disaster strikes again, he expects to find a sympathetic ear at the White House.
▪
Our sinister cop is able to exploit that weakness by offering a sympathetic ear .
▪
She offers advice, information and sometimes just a sympathetic ear to worried pet owners of Cleveland.
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There had always been a sympathetic ear for her clients, and she longed to pour out all her troubles right away.
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I dread having to go through the sympathetic ear act, even when it's merited.
■ NOUN
glue
▪
Adenoidectomy will considerably reduce the overall duration of glue ear .
▪
Finally, parents of children with glue ear should be advised to stop smoking.
▪
Discussion Our previous work and that of others has shown the spontaneous resolution of glue ear in the short term.
▪
Our study shows the long term spontaneous resolution of severe glue ear in children.
▪
They base their recommendations on an analysis of 19 randomised controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of surgical interventions for glue ear .
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I recommend that anyone interested in glue ear should read it, but carefully.
▪
Successful treatment of glue ear by attention to underlying allergic disease has been previously reported.
▪
The combined adenoidectomy and ventilation tube groups had the shortest duration of glue ear .
infection
▪
Ears and nose produce a horrible, stinking, green discharge; ear infection with rupture and suppuration.
▪
The single-dose ceftriaxone treatment has not yet been approved for ear infections by the Food and Drug Administration.
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The best approach is to use acute remedies as soon as the ear infection starts.
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In fact, an ear infection alone can cause sudden severe pain as fluid builds up in the middle ear.
▪
She had an ear infection and she told the doctor, but it was the first I'd heard of it.
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A lingering ear infection got him grounded.
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Take care to be gentle, since these ear infections are intensely irritating and painful.
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Additionally, many people report stomach upsets, ear infections and rashes after coming into contact with the lake water.
lobe
▪
Weapons and other devices hung within his blood-red, high-collared cloak; and a communicator dangled from one ear lobe .
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He tugged his ear lobe , our agreed sign for the other to remain silent.
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Nicola moved her lips along Richard's neck and nuzzled his ear lobe delicately.
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He studied the Gascon's dark effete face and the jewel-encrusted pearl which swung arrogantly from one ear lobe .
■ VERB
believe
▪
Scarcely able to believe his ears , Ramsay listened to this shameful catalogue.
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I can not believe my ears .
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I couldn't believe my ears but she repeated it: I realized I had not properly understood my own needs.
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I could hardly believe my ears .
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But she could believe her ears .
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But ministry specialists believe that ear tags will be compulsory for all lambs exported for slaughter.
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Mr Dixon could hardly believe his ears as Hank poured into them the story of the book and its apparent success.
bend
▪
These professional persuaders will spend an estimated two million pounds to bend the ears of the governing party.
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And there she would bend and put an ear to the earth.
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I think some of the older managers and tenants have been bending his ear a bit about the problems of setting up catering.
close
▪
Sleep, he heard a voice say, close by his ear .
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He tried to close his ears to the plea.
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Don't close your ears to the world and don't give up.
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I closed my ears and tried to close my mind to what was happening.
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She wanted to close her ears to it.
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I had lost two teeth, one eye was closed , and an ear torn.
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At first, I closed my ears to what I did not want to hear.
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A girl couldn't close her eyes and ears to it, but she could keep herself pure.
cover
▪
She slid her hands round her head from covering her ears to covering her eyes.
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I tried to cover my ears with them.
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Without the hair covering the ears and that shell belt and all he wasn't some one you would stare at.
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She knew, and covered her ears with her fists to keep from hearing them come from his mouth.
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Pooley covered his ears . 14 Small Dave lay in his hospital bed for some days before the doctors released him.
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Then you saw how long his hair was, almost covering his ears , and how clean-shaved looking his face was.
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They laughed, stopped playing and covered their ears .
cut
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Hair is cut to the ears and the fringe finger ruffled.
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Then cut off all the ears and stick them all on a piece of paper.
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The man's throat had been cut from ear to ear, soaking his shirt and trousers in blood.
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Van Gogh cut off his ear .
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Artists wear berets and smocks and cut their ears off.
fall
▪
This wide disposition yielded felicitous effects of colour and tone which always fell pleasingly on the ear .
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The modulated, rhythmic braying of that mule fell upon his ears .
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But his words fell on unresponsive ears .
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Invitations by Paredes to the various governors to second his plan fell on deaf ears .
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The house is falling down around our ears .
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But my suggestions fell on deaf ears .
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As he did so, a fine trickle of sawdust appeared to fall from his ear to the floor.
grin
▪
He was grinning from ear to ear and pointing his finger up to the flies.
hear
▪
The government is appealing to business to pick up the slack, but there are few ears to hear .
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She strained her ears but could hear nothing.
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Next to her right ear she could hear his breath, a shallow snuffle.
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Keeping her ears open, she heard the outer door open, then close.
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As we talked, we stopped once in a while and strained our ears to hear .
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Then, Shit, meant to reach no farther than the chamber where his ears hear his voice from the inside.
keep
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All of you - walk around Pentonville and keep your ears open.
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You keep putting your ear to the ground, waiting to hear that Warrior jubilee train.
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He kept his ear to the ground and he spent a lot of time in his office after hours.
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That means keeping one's ears and eyes open, it means not looking away but acting as a witness.
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Prosperity came to Knock, as pilgrims came from far and wide; and Father Cavanagh kept his ears .
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The man's head was designed to keep his ears apart.
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Cousin Noreen had been keeping her ears wide open as usual, and she told him what she'd managed to find out.
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Spit down the back, an epileptic fit, a jostling. Keep your ears open.
lend
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Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears .
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He finds time for them, always being prepared to lend a sympathetic ear or give some friendly confidential advice.
listen
▪
I listened with the ear of a novelist.
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Help us to listen with your ears .
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So the priest would listen , ears agog, eyes agape.
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How did their results differ when they listened with one ear and with two?
play
▪
Well, she would play it by ear .
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The biggest criticism of Suzuki is going from playing by ear to the note-reading process.
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I play by ear I use my loaf I suspect fair play.
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At 2, he played the piano by ear .
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This was one he would have to play by ear .
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So each played it by ear , with resulting policy shifts that often appeared to be not only sudden but incomprehensible.
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He heard jazz records at home when very young and played piano by ear .
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I had started playing by ear and chutzpah.
prick
▪
Henry pushed his door open a crack, and pricked up his ears .
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I pricked my ears up on that one.
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He pushed back a long, greasy spike of hair that kept slipping down and pricking his ear .
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I pricked up my ears , and sure enough, the sound was getting louder.
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The horse, scenting home and supper, pricked his ears and stepped out.
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The boy pricked up his ears , because, as it happened, so they were this earth.
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Yet it was that touring and the inspired mania of their shows that pricked up the ears at Arista Records.
reach
▪
The rumours must have reached Richard's ears - indeed they may have been primarily intended for him.
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You give a passage for loving words to reach loving ears .
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Even after the Renaissance and the rebirth of learning had reached these shores ears were still having a rough ride.
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But the powerful resonance of a marine mammal exhaling through its blowhole again reaches my ears .
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Two microphones, one in each ear of a dummy or human head, pick up the sound reaching the ears.
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Then ask them to try to tell you how the sound was produced and how it reached their ears .
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The noise they said, wouldn't reach the sow's ears , but South Oxfordshire District Council turned the idea down.
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It was a rocket, gone the instant the sound reached our ears .
ring
▪
The noise still rang in his ears .
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There was a ringing in his ears .
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Lucy's advice rang in her ears .
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I ended up with ringing ears .
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And with those echoes ringing in my ears I booked up my day - and contemplated my fate.
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The triumph of their compromise still rang in their ears .
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In the end, the men returned with the praises of the generals ringing in their ears .
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Another sign of danger is tinnitus, a condition usually characterized by a ringing in the ear after listening.
strain
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We crowded round the table, straining our ears for the magic sounds, while Robert adjusted the cat's whisker.
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Tak, said the stone against her straining ear .
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She strained her ears but could hear nothing.
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As we talked, we stopped once in a while and strained our ears to hear.
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She spoke softly, directing her remarks exclusively at Karelius and Moreau, so that the others were obliged to strain their ears .
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He stood tensed, straining his ears .
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She found she was straining her ears for the musical clang of the town church bells.
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He - An alien noise stopped her thoughts mid-flow, and she tensed, straining her ears to recapture the sound.
turn
▪
They may display their feelings by refusing to eat, and turning a deaf ear to anyone who calls their name.
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The race committee turned a deaf ear to the objections of Amelia and the other fliers.
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Nothing for it. Turn a deaf ear , look the other way.
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Thus, year after year, working people turn a deaf ear to union entreaties.
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She wouldn't be keeping the Law if she turned a deaf ear to the call or ran away from it.
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These horses turn their ears sideways, with the opening facing the ground, deliberately, cutting off auditory input.
whisper
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And go away they did, only turning back to snap Koo whispering into my ear .
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Sometimes when this is whispered in the ears of those near death, tears roll down their cheeks.
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Little Billy began to hear somebody whispering in his ear .
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She whispers in my ear and hints at marvelous discoveries.
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Hillary whispered in his ear and took his speech out of her pocket.
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A couple of Negro characters whispered in my ear about tea.
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Several people have been whispering in my ear lately about Michael's drug-taking.
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The black suited auctioneer was frowning, while whispering in her ear .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(have/drop) a word in sb's ear
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A word in the ear of the Weatherfield constabulary.
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His resolve ends when again he wakes at dawn with prophetic words in his ears.
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If I were you I'd drop a quiet word in her ear before it's too late.
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Mixed blessings' A word in your ear.
a clip round the ear/earhole
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You might get a clip round the ear.
be music to your ears
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Johnson's decision was music to the ears of the Women's Center directors.
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Even the deliberate discords were music to her ears.
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It was music to his ears.
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That was music to their ears as they counted up to twenty-two explosions.
be wet behind the ears
bend sb's ear
box sb's ears
can't believe your eyes/ears
▪
I couldn't believe my ears when she told me the cheapest flight was $1,100.
clip sb round the ear/earhole
cock an ear/eye
▪
She cocked an eye at Léonie, grunted.
easy on the eye/ear
▪
I like jazz because it's usually easy on the ear.
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Above all, it should be as physically comfortable and relaxing as it is easy on the eye.
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And frankly, she's pretty easy on the eyes, too.
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Garda Garda is a charming old village that is very easy on the eye.
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It's all been a bit too easy on the ear and eye.
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It was vital that they should be prompt and professional as well as easy on the eye.
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Ken Russell's production is certainly easy on the eye, but fans are expecting a bit more than a well-turned ankle.
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The layout and print is easy on the eye and the revision passages for dictation becomes increasingly difficult as the book progresses.
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This exhibit, Without Sanctuary, is not easy on the eyes.
eye/ear etc drops
▪
And remember - if you're using eye drops for your hay fever, leave your contact lenses out.
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Both eye irritation and redness are helped with lubricating eye drops and eye ointments.
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Sterile eye drops can be purchased for this purpose.
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That was the other thing, it took me a long fight to get my eye drops .
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They also have literature on the correct use of things such as eye drops and inhalers.
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This has distinct advantages over using eye drops .
fall on deaf ears
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As rioting continued, Mayor Warren appealed for calm, but his words fell on deaf ears.
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His pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.
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The workers' demand for a wage increase has fallen on deaf ears.
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Their requests fell on deaf ears.
▪
Arguments that some of the skills practised by pupils are obsolete fall on deaf ears, or are heeded only very slowly.
▪
But my suggestions fell on deaf ears.
▪
Invitations by Paredes to the various governors to second his plan fell on deaf ears.
▪
Pleas that the couple and their two young children will be homeless and facing financial ruin have fallen on deaf ears.
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They formulated a programme of demands, but these fell on deaf ears in Petrograd.
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Those words fell on deaf ears.
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Until Friday, such complaints appeared to fall on deaf ears at the Treasury.
give sb a thick ear/get a thick ear
half an eye/ear
▪
Allen kept half an eye on the path as he worked.
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Always half an ear, half a mind.
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Anyone with half an eye could see Susan's antagonism towards her.
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He has half an eye on where the gun went.
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He told me this and that, but I listened with only half an ear.
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Of course, no government with half an eye on re-election would ever legalise anything it didn't have to.
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She always had half an eye for him; sometimes I thought she watched him as a tamer does a tiger.
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With only half an ear for Grigoriev's response, Rostov stared across the room.
have your ears/nose etc pierced
▪
I am a female, mid-twenties and happen to have my nose pierced with one small silver ring.
keep your eyes/ears open
▪
All of you - walk around Pentonville and keep your ears open .
▪
By then keeping her eyes open was less of an effort.
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Go back to bed only when you can no longer keep your eyes Open .
▪
Remembering his duty, he strode briskly up the stairs, keeping his eyes open for any suspicious signs.
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Swing the boat south, keep her eyes open .
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The basic rules of self-defence are quite simple: keep your eyes open and you can usually avoid trouble.
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The daily firings produced by the withering economy offered loopholes of opportunity for a young man who kept his eyes open .
▪
You know how to keep your eyes open and your mouth shut.
lend an ear
make a pig's ear of sth
make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
play sth by ear
▪
As he has no political party that can provide him with practical support, he is forced to play it by ear.
▪
At 2, he played the piano by ear.
▪
But the government is having to play it by ear.
▪
He heard jazz records at home when very young and played piano by ear.
▪
So each played it by ear, with resulting policy shifts that often appeared to be not only sudden but incomprehensible.
▪
Well, she would play it by ear.
prick (up) its ears
prick (up) your ears
▪
Henry pushed his door open a crack, and pricked up his ears.
▪
I pricked my ears up on that one.
▪
I pricked up my ears, and sure enough, the sound was getting louder.
▪
The boy pricked up his ears, because, as it happened, so they were this earth.
▪
The horse, scenting home and supper, pricked his ears and stepped out.
ring in your ears
▪
My father's discouraging words still ring in my ears.
▪
And with those echoes ringing in my ears I booked up my day - and contemplated my fate.
▪
His reply astounded me, and will ring in my ears for eternity.
▪
In the end, the men returned with the praises of the generals ringing in their ears.
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Lucy's advice rang in her ears.
▪
The noise still rang in his ears.
▪
The triumph of their compromise still rang in their ears.
▪
The words ring in my ears.
▪
There was a ringing in his ears.
send sb off with a flea in their ear
shut your eyes/ears to sth
▪
We must not shut our ears to the voices of suffering people.
▪
Claudia sank down on to her bed and tried to shut her ears to the sound of him in the next room.
▪
Rincewind tried to shut his ears to the grating voice beside him.
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She shut her eyes against it all; shut her eyes to open them again on to the harmless horizon.
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She shut her eyes to shut everything out.
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She heard the boys hurling abuse at her, shouting to her to stop, but she shut her ears to them.
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Sometimes she even managed to shut her ears to the arguments going on around her.
▪
They could not shut their eyes to the ugly and degrading side of wine-drinking and see only the delightful side.
talk sb's ear off
to the untrained eye/ear
▪
But he knew what he was looking at, though to the untrained eye it was just a pile of minuscule fragments.
turn a deaf ear (to sth)
▪
She wouldn't be keeping the Law if she turned a deaf ear to the call or ran away from it.
▪
The race committee turned a deaf ear to the objections of Amelia and the other fliers.
▪
They may display their feelings by refusing to eat, and turning a deaf ear to anyone who calls their name.
▪
Thus, year after year, working people turn a deaf ear to union entreaties.
walls have ears
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Pick up a few ears of corn for dinner tonight.
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Stop shouting in my ear !
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
And then the day after we got our record contract, I went to Selfridges and had both my ears pierced.
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And you never meant it for my ears, that's sure.
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Gone her neat bun; her hair hung loose, tucked behind her ears.
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Shrugging the collar higher around tingling ears he thought of Carrie.
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Simultaneously his ears unblocked and the world again became audible.
▪
The silence seemed to swell in her ears.
▪
Well, she would play it by ear .