noun
1. an inability to distinguish differences in pitch
• Syn: ↑tone deafness
• Hypernyms: ↑deafness, ↑hearing loss
2. insensitivity to the appropriateness or subtlety of language
-
he has a tin ear for dialogue
• Hypernyms: ↑insensitivity, ↑insensitiveness
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noun1. : cauliflower ear
2. : a deafened or insensitive ear
motorists … have developed a glass eye and a tin ear for traffic safety programs — Springfield (Massachusetts) Union
only at his best does he transcend a tin ear and color blindness — George Mayberry
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1. an insensitivity to melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic variety in music.
2. an insensitivity to subtlety or appropriateness in verbal expression: a tin ear for clear, precise prose.
3. See cauliflower ear.
[1915-20]
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tin ear,
Informal.
1. a) inability to perceive small differences in sounds. b) = tone-deafness. c) a tone-deaf person.
2. = cauliflower ear. (Cf. ↑cauliflower ear)
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noun, pl ⋯ ears [count]
chiefly US : a lack of ability to hear something (such as music or speech) in an accurate and sensitive way
My wife is a talented musician, but I have a tin ear.
a writer with a tin ear for dialogue [=who writes dialogue that does not sound real]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.