bend someone's ear

Idioms & Phrases

bend someone's ear

Talk about a matter at tedious length; monopolize someone's attention. For example, Aunt Mary is always bending his ear about her financial problems. This term may have come from the much older to bend one's ear to someone, meaning "to listen to someone," although the current phrase implies a less than willing audience. [Colloquial; c. 1940]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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