earful

an earful

A lengthy reprimand or lecture. I got an earful from my mom once she heard about my speeding ticket. I gave that kid an earful after he dented my car.
See also: earful

get an earful

To receive a lengthy reprimand or lecture. I got an earful from my mom once she heard about my speeding ticket.
See also: earful, get

give (one) an earful

1. To give one a lengthy reprimand or lecture. My mom gave me an earful once she heard about my speeding ticket. I gave that kid an earful after he dented my car.
2. To divulge secrets to one. Tim gave me an earful about his relationship this afternoon, and it doesn't sound good. I think he's going to break up with Mark.
See also: earful, give
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*an earful

Fig. a great amount of discussion, criticism, gossip, or complaint. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) She was really mad about something, and I sure got an earful. Sue was standing around the corner while Jim and Mary were arguing and got an earful.
See also: earful
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

earful

(ˈirfʊl)
1. n. a tremendous amount of gossip. I can give you an earful about the mayor.
2. n. a scolding. Her mother gave her an earful when she finally got home.

give someone an earful

1. tv. to scold someone. Sally gave Sam an earful for the way he treated Mary.
2. tv. to tell someone surprising secrets. Willy gave Sally an earful about Todd’s tax problems.
See also: earful, give, someone
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • an earful
  • give (one) an earful
  • give someone an earful
  • get an earful
  • call (one) to task
  • bring (one) to task
  • six feet under
  • a working over
  • a box on the ear
  • be as mad as a hornet
References in periodicals archive
Sasha can't resist Nige's offer of drugs in exchange for sex and gets an earful from Amy and Ste who return to their flat to see Sasha and a half-dressed Nige emerging from their bedroom and Leah playing near a syringe.
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But Jen gets an earful from a top newspaper advertiser.
'Fitz & Jen' Podcast Covers NAA Confab in D.C
CORONATION STREET (ITV1) Afurious Roy gives Tony an earful after Jason smokes out the bats but the environmental inspector fails to find a single creature.
cover star: soap box; coming this week
Top Senate appropriators gave EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson an earful about requested water infrastructure cuts in the agency's budget when Johnson appeared before them in early March.
Congress unlikely to approve CWSRF cuts
The local farmers gave me an earful about what it was like to farm in West Marin County these days and directed me to the website of the Alliance for Local Sustainable Agriculture (alsamarin.org).
Farming in Marin County, CA
I often get a good earful from family members and the odd ex-hubby with the personal stuff we chat about.
Can't wait to have a good goss; Insider GOSSIP
Crawford was able to laugh about it, but he said his sons were going to be getting an earful for skipping the election.
International News: In Brief - Sons prove a poll letdown
GETTING AN EARFUL Hamilton's new line of headphones comes with a deluxe option.
Hamilton Electronics
A brave passenger told them they were giving the city a bad name and got a typical earful of abuse.
Letter: Yousay - Short points
As if this wasn't enough, Honda engineers--who got an earful from customers and tuners about the previous, 7th generation, Civic--rein-forced the suspension mounting points to handle aftermarket modifications.
A tale of two Civics: Honda's Global Compact Platform is not what you think it is because the European and American versions of the Civic are similar, but definitely not the same
Riding around London each week I get an earful of grumbles about Ken Livingstone from the capital's cabbies.
Comparison between two men is ludicrous
The former is an earful of the primitive (think Lightning Beat Man with singing lessons from El Duce), down and dirty.
Damn, it's nice to see some stuff from Goner records outta Memphis, been a while
We got an earful of anecdotal evidence that revealed that 1) quality writing on the corporate scene is in bad shape; 2) it matters--a lot; and 3) there are ways to counteract the downward slide, but the reasons for it are profound, and the fix won't be a quick one.
Good corporate writing: why it matters, and what to do; poor corporate writing--in press releases, ads, brochures, web sites and more-is costing companies credibility and revenues. Here's how to put the focus back on clear communication
And if thousands of scratchy insect-legs weren't enough to steal away Christian's attention, these prickly noise-makers also gave him quite an earful. Like most insects, these cock-roaches breathe through teeny holes called spiracles (SPEER-uh-cuhlz) located along their abdomen, the last segment of an insect's body.
Stop bugging me!