Eye, Ear and Nose Idioms

Eye, Ear & Nose

all ears

-very eager to hear, very attentive

My sister was all
ears last night when I began to talk about starting a home business.

all eyes

- watching very closely, wide-eyed with surprise

He is
all eyes when he goes to a basketball game.

apple of one`s eye

- a cherished person or object

The young girl is the
apple of her father`s eye.

bat an eye/eyelash

- show surprise, fear or interest; show one`s feelings
(neg.)

Our boss didn`t bat an eyelash when we told him that we were
going to go home early today.

believe one`s ears

- believe what one hears, become sure of (something)

I
couldn`t believe my ears when I heard that I had won a holiday in Mexico.

believe one`s eyes

- believe what one sees, become sure of seeing
something

We couldn`t believe our eyes when we saw the three bears on
the highway.

bug in one`s ear

- a hint, an idea

We put a bug into our parent`s ear
when we said that we would like to go to Greece with them.

catch one`s eye

- attract one`s attention

I tried to catch my friend`s
eye at the movie theater but he didn`t notice me.

cut off one`s nose to spite one`s face

- make things worse for oneself because one is angry - usually
at someone else

When he decided not to go to the party he was cutting
off his nose to spite his face. He was the one who lost out on a good
opportunity to meet many new people.

ear to the ground

- direct one`s attention to the way things are going or to the
way people feel and think

I have been keeping my ear to the ground to
see what is going to happen with the new owners of this company.

eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

- every crime or injury should be punished or paid
back

Some politicians are always calling for an eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth when they hear of a terrible crime.

eyes are bigger than one`s stomach

- one takes more food than one can eat

His eyes were
bigger than his stomach when he went to the restaurant and ordered too much
food.

eyes in the back of one`s head

- ability to know what happens when one`s back is
turned

The teacher has eyes in the back of her head and always knows
what is going on in the classroom.

eyes pop out

- one is very surprised

My eyes popped out when I saw
the new computer that I had gotten for my birthday.

flea in one`s ear

- an idea or answer that is not welcome

The idea about
changing the schedules is a flea in the supervisor`s ear that we wish he would
forget.

get the eye

- be looked at - for interest and liking or
unfriendliness

We got the eye from the manager of the restaurant when
we entered in our old clothes.

give someone the eye

- look at someone

I gave the woman in the restaurant
the eye but she totally ignored me.

hard-nosed

- not weak or soft, stubborn

The union took a
hard-nosed position in the contract negotiations.

have an eye for

- be able to judge correctly, have good taste in

My
father has an eye for ceramic plates and has a large collection of them.

have eyes only for

- see or want nothing else, give all one`s
attention

He only has eyes for the woman who works in his office.

have one's nose in something

- unwelcome interest in something, impolite
curiosity

My boss always has his nose in other peoples' business so he
is not very well-liked.

hit between the eyes

- make a strong impression on, surprise greatly

The
news about the accident hit us between the eyes and totally shocked us.

in one`s mind`s eye

- in one`s imagination

I tried to relax and in my
mind`s eye pretend that I was on a beautiful island.

keep an eye on

- watch carefully, continue paying attention to

I
asked my aunt to keep an eye on our apartment when we went away for our holiday.

keep one`s nose clean

- stay out of trouble

The judge told the young man
that he must keep his nose clean if he didn`t want to go to jail in the future.

keep one`s nose out of something

- keep out of or away from

I wish that the secretary
at our office would keep her nose out of other people`s business.

keep one`s nose to the grindstone

- work hard or keep busy for a long time

He has been
keeping his nose to the grindstone all year so that he can save up enough money
for a new car.

lay/set eyes on

- see

I have not set eyes on his new car yet even
though he bought it last month.

lead by the nose

- make or persuade someone to do anything you want

My
sister has been leading her husband by the nose since they got married.

lend/give an ear to

- listen to

I try to lend an ear to all of my friends
when they have a personal problem that they want to talk about.

look down one`s nose at

- think of as worthless, feel scorn for

She looks down
her nose at people who she thinks are not as smart as she is.

make eyes at

- try to attract someone, flirt

The woman in the
restaurant is always making eyes at the customers who she likes.

nose about/around

- look for something private or secret, explore,
pry

The reporters spend a lot of time nosing around in the business of
famous people.

pay through the nose

- pay too much

My mother paid through the nose for her
new dress but she is very happy with it.

play by ear

- decide what to do as one goes along to fit the
situation

I don`t know what time I will be back on Sunday so we should
play it by ear as to a good time to meet.

play by ear

- play a musical instrument by remembering the tune - not by
reading the music

My sister learned to play the piano by ear when she
was 8 years old.

pull the wool over one`s eyes

- deceive, fool someone into thinking well of
someone

The girl tried to pull the wool over her mother`s eyes when
she said that she had been studying all weekend.

raise eyebrows

- cause surprise or disapproval

I raised many eyebrows
when I came in to work two hours late this morning.

see eye to eye

- agree fully, hold the same opinion

I never see eye
to eye with my wife about what television program to watch.

skin off one`s nose

- matter of interest, concern or trouble to one

It is
no skin off my nose as to whether or not I get invited to the party or not.

stars in one`s eyes

- an appearance or feeling of very great happiness

She
had stars in her eyes when she won first prize in the speech contest.

thumb one`s nose

- look with disfavor or dislike, refuse to obey

My
friend thumbed his nose at me when I asked him to stop talking so loud.

to the naked eye

- as it is seen, apparently

To the naked eye it looked
like there was no damage to the car but actually there was a lot of damage.

turn a deaf ear to

- pretend not to hear, not pay attention

I turned a
deaf ear to the complaints of my friend about the heat.

turn up one`s nose at

- refuse as not being good enough for someone

My
sister turned up her nose at the chance to go to nursing school.

under one`s nose

- in sight of, easily seen

I thought that I had lost
my house keys but I found them right under my nose.

wet behind the ears

- inexperienced, new in a job or place

He is still wet
behind the ears and doesn`t know very much at all about this company.