to bend someone's ear
- idiom
- Informal
:
dar la tabarra
- I had to bend my friend's ear about my recent troubles at work.
Examples
-
For years, your granddad bent my ear with stories about that old book.
-
You got to talk to somebody, so I bent Tony's ear, I guess.
-
I just, you know, need to bend his ear.
-
WHAT ARE YOU BENDING MY EAR FOR ANYWAY?
-
Whenever I visit my grandmother, she loves to bend my ear about her childhood memories.
-
After the meeting, I bent the manager's ear about my suggestions for improving the project.
Synonyms
1
7.9
To talk to someone for a long time in a way that annoys them
Speak to someone for a very long time in a way that annoys them
To speak to someone for a very long time until they get tired of listening
Speak with someone for a very long time until they get tired
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'bend' (to curve/direct) and 'ear' (associated with listening) create a clear metaphorical image of directing someone's attention or listening, so learners might guess it involves speaking to someone. However, the precise sense ‘talk to someone at length, often annoyingly or complaining’ is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not reliably infer the full meaning.
Etymology
Bend someone's ear likely comes from the image of someone leaning in and as if to bend another person's ear by talking into it for a long time. So, bend someone's ear means 'to talk to someone for a long time', often in an annoying way.