Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have van gogh's ear for music

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.40 in modern English

Syllables: have -van -gogh's ear -for -mu-sic
IPA

44

Scrabble Score

23

Letters

6

Syllables

14

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be tone-deaf.

Humorous; Informal

Example Sentences

"After listening to Cliff Osmond, a huge, 225-pound actor, rehearse a song he was to sing as part of his role in Kiss Me, Stupid, Billy observed, not unkindly, "You have Van Gogh's ear for music.""
"[…] some inebriated idiot belting out a karaoke number thinking that he or she is perfectly in tune and the rest of the audience is somehow captivated by the performance — most of them have Van Gogh's ear for music."
"Brian had Van Gogh's ear for music. When Clint told him that he said, 'Hey, that's great, thanks Clint,' like it was a compliment."

Etymology

Since Van Gogh (a painter, not a musician) is famed for cutting off his own ear. The phrase is attributed to Billy Wilder.

Usage

Inflected Forms

has Van Gogh's ear for music (present, singular) having Van Gogh's ear for music (participle, present) had Van Gogh's ear for music (participle, past) had Van Gogh's ear for music (past)

Questions

What does have van gogh's ear for music mean?: To be tone-deaf.
Where does have van gogh's ear for music come from?: Since Van Gogh (a painter, not a musician) is famed for cutting off his own ear. The phrase is attributed to Billy Wilder.

How to pronounce have van gogh's ear for music

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