Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cloth-ears

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.86 in modern English

Syllables
cloth-ears
IPA
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person who cannot hear clearly or who fails to pay attention to what is said.

British usage; Dated; Derogatory; Informal

Etymology

The origin of the term is in the wool and cotton mills of Northern England where the noise of the machinery and build-up of cotton dust made it difficult to hear people speaking. The earliest example in print is "I wish you'd listen. Have you got cloth ears?" from Carnival, a novel by Compton Mackenzie (1912).

Usage

Phrases

cloth-eared

Frequently Paired Words

cloth-eared

Questions

What does cloth-ears mean?
A person who cannot hear clearly or who fails to pay attention to what is said.
Where does cloth-ears come from?
The origin of the term is in the wool and cotton mills of Northern England where the noise of the machinery and build-up of cotton dust made it difficult to hear people speaking. The earliest example in print is "I wish you'd listen. Have you got cloth ears?" from Carnival, a novel by Compton Mackenzie (1912).

How to pronounce cloth-ears

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cloth-ears”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cloth-ears”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cloth-ears” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.