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Glite Dictionary
to hear the end of it

to hear the end of it

8 8.1
To be told again and again about something you did wrong in an angry way
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : no oír el final
  • I never hear the end of it.
  • never hear the end of it

And we've never let him hear the end of it.

Examples

  • We'd never hear the end of it.

    Blog text (4)

  • Had Nimmo posted those numbers, we would have never heard the end of it.

    Blog text (34)

  • I would never hear the end of it from my friends.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We would never hear the end of it.

    Blog text (12)

  • Bobby says he will never hear the end of it.

    Blog text (23)

  • I'd never hear the end of it.

    Moonlight Mile (2002)

  • They never hear the end of it.

    Here Come the Tigers (1978)

  • I took him to my family's Christmas breakfast once a couple years ago and I've never heard the end of it from his mother.

  • I wasn't happy about changing my hair, but if I went to school the next day with my hair the same, I'd never hear the end of it.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • If I tell my friends about my embarrassing moment, I will never hear the end of it.

Synonyms

to never hear the end of it
vsto hear the end of it
  • Informal
4 7.4

To have other people keep talking about something embarrassing or annoying

is the same phrase but used specifically with never to show prolonged bothering

Antonyms

to forget
∞ 1.8

Decide not to think about something

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

How Often

to hear the end of it
  • Informal
8 8.1
to bring up
788 2.6
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

hear the end of it infinitive
hearing the end of it present participle
hears the end of it third person singular
heard the end of it past
heard the end of it past participle

Morphology

hear + the + end + of + it

The words 'hear' + 'the end of it' give a loose literal clue (hearing something about it), but the specific idiomatic sense — being repeatedly reminded or bothered, especially by complaints or criticism — is not fully predictable from the constituents alone. The phrase is partially compositional (it involves hearing about something) but relies on conventionalized use (often with 'never') to express ongoing annoyance, so it is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Hear the end of it comes from the image of someone telling the same complaint over and over until you finally hear the end; because the complaint is repeated, you keep being reminded. That's why saying you will 'never hear the end of it' means you will be bothered by the story or criticism for a long time.