up on its ear
- idiom
- Informal
:
en caos
- The new law proposal set the entire city up on its ear for weeks.
Examples
-
News of the merger turned the company up on its ear.
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His unexpected resignation threw the department up on its ear.
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The recent scandal has left the company up on its ear.
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After the storm, the town was up on its ear.
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The sudden departure of the CEO left the organization up on its ear.
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The surprising news about budget cuts has turned the whole office up on its ear.
-
When the fire alarm went off during the meeting, it sent everyone up on its ear.
Synonyms
34
4.0
Feeling unsteady in body or mind after something sudden
9
2.5
Being in a state of disorder or confusion
8
5.3
Very noisy and upset because people are angry or worried
1
7.5
Mixed up and in a messy, confused state
With much hurry and disorder
Turned over so the bottom points toward the sky
Antonyms
How Disrupted
Surface Forms
Morphology
The overall sense of upheaval or disruption cannot be predicted from the literal meanings of 'up' (direction), 'on' (preposition), 'its' (possessive) and 'ear' (body part); 'ear' has no obvious connection to being disordered. This is an idiomatic, metaphorical use whose meaning must be learned as a whole, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would likely not infer the intended sense.
Etymology
Up on its ear may come from the image of something turned up with its ear on the ground, like a person or cart knocked over and lying awkwardly. So, that picture of being suddenly turned over is why the phrase means 'in a state of confusion or disorder'.