- play something by ear
- 1) to deal with a situation without having a plan, by reacting to things as they happen2) to play music by hearing and remembering it, not by reading it
English dictionary. 2014.
English dictionary. 2014.
play (something) by ear — 1. to deal with a situation as it develops and without a plan. I m not sure if I can go bowling or not, I ll just have to play it by ear. Usage notes: sometimes used with other verbs: I write by ear, and rarely with any exact notion of how I want … New idioms dictionary
play (something) by ear — play (sth) by ˈear idiom to play music by remembering how it sounds rather than by reading it Main entry: ↑earidiom … Useful english dictionary
play something by ear — 1》 perform music without having seen a score. 2》 (play it by ear) informal proceed instinctively according to circumstances rather than according to rules or a plan. → play … English new terms dictionary
play something by ear — … Useful english dictionary
play it by ear — verb decide on one s actions as one goes along, depending on the situation She didn t know what to expect from her new job, so she played it by ear • Hypernyms: ↑act, ↑move • Verb Frames: Somebody s * * * See play … Useful english dictionary
play it by ear — verb a) To play a song according to how it sounds, rather than from a written score If they ask for something we didnt prepare, we will have to play it by ear. b) To do something by guessing, intuition, or trial and error; … Wiktionary
play it by ear — If you play it by ear, you don t have a plan of action, but decide what to do as events take shape. (Dorking School Dictionary) *** This expression means to improvise or do something without preparation, according to the demands of the … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
play it by ear — decide on something according to the situation Let s play it by ear and decide what to do after we see the movie … Idioms and examples
ear — W2S2 [ıə US ır] n ↑ear, ↑nose, ↑tooth, ↑eye ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(part of your body)¦ 2¦(hearing)¦ 3¦(grain)¦ 4 smile/grin etc from ear to ear 5 6 a sympathetic ear 7 close/shut your ears to something … Dictionary of contemporary English
ear — [ ır ] noun *** 1. ) count one of the two parts at the sides of your head that you hear with: He whispered something in her ear. 2. ) singular the ability to hear and judge sounds: She has a very good ear for music. 3. ) count the part at the top … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English