Jul 27, 2017 · A player has a ‘tin ear’ when his intonation is poor and his playing is mechanical. Peabody Bulletin (Baltimore) · 1935; I found three senses of "tin-ear" in the period shortly prior to this attestation. The most frequent by far seemed to be "tin ear" meaning a boxer's damaged ear from fighting, similar to "cauliflower ear."

If a person dislikes music or dislikes popular music, they can be said to have tin ear, but that would probably be said in a scoffing way, given that it's a subjective opinion. A person can be said to have a tin ear for music and that would be the same as having a tin ear. One can also be described as having a tin ear for other things.

Dec 16, 2014 · Or you could say such folks have a tin ear. If someone has a tin ear, they are not good at understanding people's feelings as expressed in what they are saying or doing: Some London-based journalists and politicians are developing a tin ear for the mood of the general public. [Cambridge Dictionary]

Feb 7, 2019 · It is often applied to people who can't appreciate the subtleties of music, but "tin ear" is also applied to people who disregard another's attitude or mood. Other idioms might include turn a blind eye or shut his eyes to , which both involve ignoring or refusing information that may be inconvenient.

Alternately, consider be in an ivory tower, have blinders on, and have a tin ear for. ivory tower: an attitude of aloofness or disdain or disregard for worldly or practical affairs. have blinders on: to not be able to accept or recognize what's happening around you. a tin ear: an insensitivity to the appropriateness or subtlety of verbal expression

Whoever invented the rule against sentence-intitial and and but, with its preposterous justification in terms of an alleged defect in sentential "completeness", must have had a tin ear and a dull mind. Nevertheless, this stupid made-up rule has infected the culture so thoroughly that 60% of the American Heritage Dictionary's (sensible and well ...

May 7, 2011 · The point of "making a silk purse out of a sow's ear" is that only rich people had silk purses. Poor people would be much more likely to make a serviceable but inelegant purse from a pig's ear since the ear is a tough, flexible part of a pig but one that has few other uses.

Aug 25, 2011 · "Play it by ear" is a musical phrase that contrasts against reading from sheet music, so might be used where there is no plan, just acting based on the dynamics of the situation. But they are used in similar situations when used colloquially. Another synonyms would be "fly by the seat of your pants"

Oct 22, 2012 · Whoever invented the rule against sentence-intitial and and but, with its a preposterous justification in terms of an alleged defect in sentential “completeness”, must have had a tin ear and a dull mind. So, my answer to OP’s original question is “mu”: your question assumes something which is false. Edit:

So deadeye seems to me to be analogous to the situation with tin ear, meaning low quality (viz tin as a metal vs iron or gold) hearing (use of ear as synecdoche or meiosis for hearing). As for first use or coinage, I'll leave that to our Google nGra-mloving experts. –