Go in one ear and out the other In english explanation

The meaning, explanation, definition and origin of the idiom/phrase "go in one ear and out the other", English Idiom Dictionary ( also found in Vietnamese )

author Luna Linh calendar 2021-03-29 09:03

Meaning of Go in one ear and out the other

Synonyms:

forget , slip our mind , ignore

Go in one ear and out the other spoken language verb phrase

If you say someone goes in one ear and out the other, you mean they don't pay attention to and forget about what you have just said immediately.

My brother usually forgets what I teaches him, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.

What he taught me just went in one ear and out the other.

Other phrases about:

ditzo

A forgetful person; a fool

Grammar and Usage of Go in one ear and out the other

Verb Forms

  • went in one ear and out the other
  • goes in one ear and out the other

The verb "go" is often conjugated according to the tense of the sentence

More examples:

Although her parents told her to do her homework, it went in one ear and out the other.

Origin of Go in one ear and out the other

(Image source: electricaltimes.co.uk)

This phrase has a long history dated back to ancient Rome around the first century CE. Educator and orator Quintilian is quoted as having said ” The things he says flow straight through the ears”, which means that you have an empty head, with no brain to absorb the information imparted. Slowly the phrase transformed and in 1385, in Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, Troilus and Criseyde, the expression "go in one ear and out another" was first found. 

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