flea in one's ear

9.9

A sudden feeling of doubt or a sharp angry comment

idiom

Archaic

: sospecha

After overhearing their conversation, she left with a flea in her ear about what was really happening.

Examples

His boss gave him a flea in his ear for coming in late three times this week.
The detective’s unusual questions left the suspect with a flea in his ear about the investigation.
I had a flea in my ear about his intentions.
She mentioned a flea in her ear regarding the project.
After overhearing their conversation, she left with a flea in her ear about what was really happening.
The detective’s unusual questions left the suspect with a flea in his ear about the investigation.
His boss gave him a flea in his ear for coming in late three times this week.

Antonyms

reassurance

47 3.7

Words or actions that make someone feel less worried and more confident

confidence

1 2.2

A belief that things will turn out well

How Troubled

to panic

381 2.3

alarm

65 2.3

concern

∞ 1.5

flea in one's ear

Archaic

9.9

unease

21 4.4

Surface Forms

flea in one's ear singular

fleas in one's ear plural

Morphology

flea + in + one + ear

The sense 'a suspicion/unease or a sharp rebuke' cannot be reliably derived from the literal parts 'flea' + 'in' + 'one's' + 'ear'. Although a flea is an irritating pest and 'in one's ear' suggests annoyance, the jump to a reprimand or vague suspicion is idiomatic and not predictable for a B1 learner who simply knows the words. Cross-linguistically this precise image-to-meaning mapping is not transparent, so prior exposure is normally required.

Etymology

Flea in one's ear comes from the image of a tiny, annoying flea jumping into your ear, making you itchy, worried and unable to ignore it. That's why it now means 'a nagging doubt or a sharp rebuke'.