👂 Deaf as a Post: Quiet Cruelties and Ornery Orations 📯
Imagine talking to a brick wall… that feeling? It’s best captured in the timeless simile “Deaf as a Post.” This age-old phrase has been eavesdropping in conversations since the sixteenth century, earmarked as incapable of listening or understanding.
To illustrate, the phrase was firmly pegged in English vocabulary when J. Palsgrave mused in 1540 with remarkable eloquence, “He wotteth ful lyttel how deffe an eare I intended to gyue him… he were as good to tell his tale to a poste.” Yep, storytelling skills were as appreciated by a post as a monologue to an uninterested listener.
Related Expressions and Idioms
- Fall on Deaf Ears: To be disregarded or ignored.
- Turn a Blind Eye/Deaf Ear: To deliberately ignore unwanted information.
- In One Ear and Out the Other: Information that is quickly forgotten or ignored.
- Walls Have Ears: Careful what you say; someone might be listening.
- Turn a Deaf Ear: To refuse to listen or respond.
Synonyms
- Unhearing
- Inattentive
- Oblivious
- Impervious
Antonyms
- Attentive
- Receptive
- Listening
- Aware
Humor-Filled Quotes
“A lecture is an introduction to something that is known, and hearing it is like confiding in a statue.” – Unknown
“For someone who’s supposedly very well-read, you’re also as deaf as a doorpost.” – Sherlock Holmes
Proverbs Reflecting Incomprehension
- “None so deaf as those who will not hear.” – Matthew Henry
- “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to sleep.” – Navajo Proverb
Suggested Literature & More
Books:
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes – Adventures where misunderstanding is a recurrent theme.
Songs:
- *“Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel – A melodic dive into the theme of communicated and ignored messages.
Movies:
- A Quiet Place (2018) – Explores survival in silence, an ironic twist on being “deaf as a post.”
Quizzes to Test Your Cliché IQ
Farewell
Remember, folks: sometimes the loudest message is the one left unsaid. Keep your ears and minds open, always ready to truly hear, for words and wisdom often whisper rather than shout. Until next time, keep spreading the language love!
