play by ear
To do by guessing, intuition, or trial and error; to react to events as they occur, often with risk of negative outcomes; to improvise.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I don't have a plan, so I'll just play it by ear.”
“We didn't book a hotel, so we'll have to play it by ear when we arrive.”
“With no script and only a vague outline of the scene, the director told the actors to play it by ear and see what emerged.”
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all ears
Listening intently; fully focused.
- 02
all eyes and ears
Very attentive.
- 03
are your ears burning
Asked of somebody who was not present but was the topic of discussion.
- 04
beat someone round the ears
To beat (a person) with blows about the head.
- 05
believe one's ears
To believe that something which one hears is truly the case.
- 06
bend someone's ear
To bore; to talk too long, especially to one particular person.
- 07
box someone's ears
To slap someone on the side of the head, usually as an informal punishment.
- 08
burn someone's ears
To cause blushing of someone's ears due to strong embarrassment.
Last updated August 10, 2026