make a silk purse of a sow's ear

bend someone's ear

To bore; to talk too long, especially to one particular person.

cannot make it

Cannot reach satisfactory or expected standards or do something competently; describes someone in a hopeless situation.

common purse

A shared or community fund.

cut one's cloth to suit one's purse

To settle for less when money or resources are limited.

doctors make the worst patients

It is difficult to advise people on subjects that they are experts on.

ear to the ground

The practice or characteristic of carefully gathering information; a state or mindset of attentiveness.

ear tunnel

A round piece of jewelry with a hole in the middle, which fits into a stretched earlobe.

enough to make a cat laugh

Very outlandish or outrageous.