ear to the ground
6
6.8
- idiom
- Informal
:
estar atento
- Keep your ear to the ground.
- keep an ear to the ground
I don't personally take any of them, but these clinical trials sound promising, so I'm going to keep an ear to the ground for them.
- I don't personally take any of them, but these clinical trials sound promising, so I'm going to keep an ear to the ground for them.
- He might even go to the local bar or pub or drinking hole, keep his ear to the ground, see if there's any hotties sitting at the bar.
- They those writers were geniuses at really a putting their ear to the ground.
- I don't, I, I, I keep my ear to the ground, but I don't air very often hear people saying, well, I don't like this or I don't like that.
Examples
-
I like to keep my ear to the ground here... you know, just kind of see what's new.
Fiction book (1996) -
Uncle Jack always had his ear to the ground.
-
I keep my ear to the ground for my job.
-
l like to keep my ear to the ground.
-
I gotta find a job where I can keep my ear to the ground.
-
I keep my ear to the ground.
-
Just keeping my ear to the ground, Papa.
-
Oh, I keep my ear to the ground; that's what a good politician does.
Fiction book (1992) -
Ah Paul, I might have some news regarding Jodie soon, I've been keeping my ear to the ground.
-
Uncle Jack always has his ear to the ground to hear the latest gossip.
Synonyms
98
3.5
To wait and pay attention for more news or updates
27
4.4
You listen carefully because you are very interested
4
3.7
Stay alert to hear useful news or information
1
6.2
To listen carefully to someone
To pay close attention to what people say and do to know what is happening
Antonyms
How Attentive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'ear' (listening) and 'ground' (environment) give a clue that the phrase involves paying attention, so a learner could infer a general sense of listening or monitoring. However, the specific idiomatic meaning 'being attentive to news or trends' is metaphorical and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so a B1 learner who has not seen the expression before may not derive the precise sense.
Etymology
The idiom ear to the ground may come from a simple, literal image: someone putting their ear close to the ground to hear faint sounds, like an approaching horse or enemy. That's why the phrase now means 'to be attentive to the latest news or changes'.