in one ear and out the other
2
5.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
se va por un oído y sale por el otro
- Whenever I try to explain something, it just goes in one ear and out the other.
- go in one ear and out the other
- just in one ear and out the other
Examples
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It's kinda like if your wife is trying to talk to you about household chores while you're watching the Super Bowl or NBA Finals or whatever sports shows you like... it goes in one ear and out the other.
Blog text (12) -
I try to talk to her, and it's in one ear and out the other.
Blog text (24) -
And every time it would go in one ear and out the other.
-
Goes in one ear and out the other.
-
Just learn to let it all go in one ear and out the other.
Blog text (32) -
It's just going to go in one ear and out the other.
Blog text (34) -
I swear it's in one ear and out the other with that girl.
-
We have been friends since freshman year of high school, so we are like siblings, but it goes in one ear and out the other.
Blog text (8) -
Vince has been letting this conversation go in one ear and out the other until that last remark.
Fiction book (1994) -
Despite my warnings, his advice goes in one ear and out the other.
Synonyms
Not remembered or brought back to mind
Antonyms
How Memorable
48
3.4
- Informal
- Informal
2
5.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + one + ear + and + out + the + other
The phrase creates a simple spatial image — something goes into one ear and comes out the other — that directly conveys ‘not retained/quickly forgotten’. This metaphorical but literal-seeming composition is common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
In one ear and out the other comes from a simple image: a sound goes in one ear and straight out the other, so it never stays in the mind. That's why it means 'heard but quickly forgotten'.