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Picture of Kalleh
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My kids and I were having a light-hearted conversation today and I said I'd throw them out on their ears! They'd never heard the phrase and teased me relentlessly that I was crazy. We looked it up online, and there was a reference to it in the Free Dictionary. There were a few other references to it, but not nearly as many as I thought there'd be. It soon went to "Do your ears hang low."

Have you heard of that phrase? Is it rare? Does anyone know where it came from?
 
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Picture of BobHale
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I've heard it a lot in the singular "on your ear" but I'm not sure I've heard the plural.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
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Picture of arnie
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Yes, I've heard it quite often as well.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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My late mother used it, but I doubt I've heard it in thirty years. Archaic, I suppose, but you aren't crazy! Smile (Well, not for that, anyhow!)


It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
 
Posts: 6168 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Just seems like a euphemism for "out on your arse/ass". Probably wrong, but ...


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
 
Posts: 5148 | Location: R'lyehReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of BobHale
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It is pretty common in the UK.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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Maybe you are right, z, that it's a euphemism for "ass." My kids thought I was just too goody-goody to say "ass." Roll Eyes
quote:
I've heard it a lot in the singular "on your ear" but I'm not sure I've heard the plural.
Ah, but since I had two kids to throw out, I had to have two ears. Wink
 
Posts: 24735 | Location: Chicago, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of arnie
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To use another euphemism for "ass/arse", I've also heard "out on your rear". That could easily become elided into "on your ear".


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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I have the feeling that this expression could have something to do with the Old West or at least Hollywood's conception of it. You know the set piece repeated in countless movies where the guy is forcibly thrown out of the bar through the swinging doors and invariably lands "on his ears". It's the "bum's rush" only with more emphasis.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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I just scrolled down and down and down the many "throw" pages in the OED, and I couldn't find "throw out on your ear."

I really can't find it anywhere. I am thinking of asking Quinion.
 
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Picture of Caterwauller
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I've heard it used, mostly by my parents or older, or maybe in movies. I can't wait to hear the answer Quinion comes up with!


*******
"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
~Dalai Lama
 
Posts: 5149 | Location: Columbus, OhioReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Kalleh
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I emailed him tonight. I know he's a busy man, so we'll see if he gets back to me.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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Ah, well. Here was my canned response:
quote:
This message acknowledges receipt of your question for the Questions & Answers column of World Wide Words.

Many thanks for writing. Unfortunately, I get many more questions than I can possibly answer in the time available. Please do not be offended if it proves impossible to respond within a reasonable period of time.

If I can respond, it will first be in a private message. The text of my reply may later appear in the QA section of a World Wide Words mailing and may also be published in the Q&A section of the Words Web site at <http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/>.

Do not reply to this message: the e-mail address it is sent from is not monitored.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
Web: http://www.worldwidewords.org
 
Posts: 24735 | Location: Chicago, USAReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of arnie
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This site doesn't give any suggestions for the origin of the idiom, but it does indicate it comes from the early 1900s.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
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Picture of Kalleh
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I guess that makes sense. Since there is no sexy story about it, Quinion probably won't answer me.
 
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