Idiom
have Van Gogh's ear for music
Meaning
To be tone-deaf.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I cannot sing because I have Van Gogh's ear for music.”
“Do not ask him to join the choir, as he truly has Van Gogh's ear for music.”
“Despite his deep appreciation for the arts, he unfortunately has Van Gogh's ear for music and cannot carry a simple tune.”
Examples
simple
“I cannot sing because I have Van Gogh's ear for music.”
contextual
“Do not ask him to join the choir, as he truly has Van Gogh's ear for music.”
complex
“Despite his deep appreciation for the arts, he unfortunately has Van Gogh's ear for music and cannot carry a simple tune.”
Origin
Van Gogh (a painter, not a musician) is famed for cutting off his own ear. The phrase is attributed to Billy Wilder.
Key words
Related idioms
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