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Glite Dictionary
to have someone's ear

to have someone's ear

1 6.2
To be someone another person listens to for advice or influence
  • idiom
translation icon : tener la atención de alguien
  • If taken at face value, Myers and Kohn's assertion that "in the end, all involved supported the final plan" is a damning indictment of the competence of the senior military leadership, including Myers himself, who assures us he had Rumsfeld's ear.
  • had the king's ear whenever he wanted

Examples

  • First, I do hope that it is clear that I do not have Netanyahu's ear.

    Blog text (30)

  • I'm the one who has the old man's ear, and I'm offering to help you.

    All the Money in the World (2017)

  • I didn't realize you had both Obama's and Petraeus' ear.

    Blog text (1)

  • Question: Professor Waltz, given the current facts on the ground, if you had the American president's ear right now, what would you suggest he do with regard to Iran?

    Academic text (2007)

  • Their folly, ignorance, and destructive tendencies are fully displayed, yet it seems they have this Superintendent's ear more than any reason or insight can hope to do.

    Blog text (23)

  • You need to have the council's ear if you want your ideas to be considered.

  • To influence the decision, it's important to have the mayor's ear during the discussions.

  • After years of working together, she finally has the editor's ear and can suggest changes to the manuscript.

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to disregard
119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

How Attentive

to have someone's ear
1 6.2

Surface Forms

have someone's ear infinitive
had someone's ear past
had someone's ear past participle
having someone's ear present participle
has someone's ear third person singular

Morphology

have + someone's + ear

The sense 'to have someone's attention or be listened to' follows from 'have' (to possess) plus 'ear' (associated with listening), so a B1 learner who knows the parts can often infer the meaning. However, this is a metonymic/metaphorical use of 'ear' (ear = attention) rather than a literal composition, and the mapping may not be fully predictable without prior exposure, so it is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Have someone's ear comes from the picture of one person leaning close so words go into another person's ear and the listener pays careful attention. So, to have someone's ear today means to have their attention and to be able to give advice or 'influence' their decisions.