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PLAY IT BY EAR definition: to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops: . Learn more.
- English (US)
PLAY IT BY EAR meaning: to decide how to deal with a...
- Play About/Around
PLAY ABOUT/AROUND definition: to behave in a silly way: ....
- Play for Time
play for time definition: to try to make something happen...
- Play Games
play games definition: to not deal with a situation...
- Safe
PLAY (IT) SAFE definition: to be careful and not take risks:...
- Play Sth Back
play sth back definition: to listen to sounds or watch...
- Decide
DECIDE definition: 1. to choose something after thinking...
- Tell
TELL definition: 1. to say something to someone, usually...
- Sure
SURE definition: 1. certain: 2. to take action so that you...
- Play Sth by Ear
PLAY STH BY EAR definition: to play a piece of music by...
- English (US)
- Meaning of “Play It by Ear”
- Origin of “Play It by Ear”
- Using The Idiom “Play It by Ear”
- Other Idioms About Ears
When someone says, “I’ll play it by ear” they mean that they’ll handle some unplanned or unexpected coming situation in whichever way seems to work when the time comes. That is, to deal with that situation without any predetermined rules or guidelines: one would see how something goes and go along with it instead of preparing for it beforehand. Ano...
The idea of playing something by ear originally referred to the playing of music without reference to a written score. Sometimes musicians would listen to a piece of music and then try to recreate the sound. And so, a musician might learn or study music without any sheet music, so they would then play what they had heard rather than what was in the...
You would use the idiom to “play it by ear” in the following circumstances: Your friend is organising a night out, and you want to make decisions about it beforehand. She says “Let’s play it by ear,” meaning, let’s see how it goes and respond to every circumstance as it arises. You don’t have enough information to prepare for a presentation or talk...
All ears– To listen intently. Bend your ear– To talk a lot to someone, usually about a problem. Ears are burning– This expression is used when somebody has been talking about you. Have your ear to the ground – To listen out for something, to be well-informed. In one ear and out the other– To disregard what someone is saying. Lend an ear– To listen ...
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4 days ago · PLAY IT BY EAR definition: to deal with things as they happen , rather than following a plan or previous arrangement | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples
The phrase ‘play by ear’ was coined much later. The first record of it is in an 1839 edition of The Edinburgh Review: “Miss Austen is like one who plays by ear, while Miss Martineau understands the science.”. The figurative sense came into being in the mid 20th century in the USA. the early references in that context all relate to ...
Use play it by ear when you want to decide how to deal with a situation as it’s already occurring. You can also use the expression in its literal sense when you can play something on the instrument by only listening to it. Here are some examples of play it by ear in a sentence: “I kind of just play it by ear, I like to see what people are ...
- Author
Definition of to play it by ear in the Idioms Dictionary. to play it by ear phrase. What does to play it by ear expression mean? ... to play it at full blast; to play ...
Play it by ear definition: . See examples of PLAY IT BY EAR used in a sentence.
