to set by the ears
- idiom
- Informal
:
crear discordia
- The controversial decision set by the ears the committee members, leading to a heated debate.
Examples
-
The gossip circulating in the office set by the ears employees against each other, creating a tense atmosphere.
-
The heated rumor set by the ears everyone in the office for days.
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It was easy for the troublemaker to set by the ears the rival teams.
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She feared that her remarks might set by the ears the entire committee.
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Don't set by the ears your friends!
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The rumor set by the ears the whole team.
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His comments about the new policy set by the ears the team, causing a divide in opinions.
Synonyms
48
4.8
To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear
13
7.6
To cause people to argue or become divided on purpose
8
8.0
To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue
5
5.3
To cause fights or problems between people on purpose
1
7.4
Make people more angry and cause conflict between groups
To cause disagreement between people or groups
To say or do things that cause arguments and make people angry
To cause trouble between people to get attention
To say or do something that causes strong reactions and confusion among people
To cause a lot of trouble and anger among people
Antonyms
How Hostile
- Informal
23
7.0
∞
1.0
15
3.6
- Informal
607
1.1
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'set' can mean 'to cause' or 'bring about', the sequence 'by the ears' does not transparently contribute the sense 'cause disagreement' for a learner who knows the individual words; 'ear' relates to listening, not conflict. The overall meaning is idiomatic and not a straightforward compositional extension of the constituents, so a B1 learner who knows the words would unlikely predict the sense without prior exposure.
Etymology
Set by the ears may come from an old image of someone making two dogs fight so they snap at each other's ears and start a noisy fight. So to set by the ears came to mean 'to make people argue' or 'to cause trouble'.