hear things

hearing things

Having auditory hallucinations. Bob: "Listen, I'm sure that someone is right behind us!" Jack: "Bob, you're hearing things. There's nothing out here but us and the wind."
See also: hearing, thing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

hear (or see) things

imagine that you can hear (or see) something that is not in fact there.
See also: hear, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ˈsee/ˈhear things

(informal) see/hear things that are not really there: So it was you that was playing the piano! I thought I was hearing things. (humorous) Tom’s washing the dishes — I must be seeing things!
See also: hear, see, thing
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • hearing things
  • it works for me
  • (that) works for me!
  • WFM
  • What's keeping?
  • Give me a rest!
  • note
  • nine
  • give (something) to (someone)
  • give it to
References in classic literature
Some one may tell you something, or (and people often hear things in this way) some heaven-sent message may direct you.
She adds: "I will just stay in the moment and it's sort of been all right recently." Glad to hear things are looking up.
"It became very frustrating, not only for myself but also for people around me, when I couldn't hear things properly and I got fed up of asking.
"I always like to hear things like that, but what I then didn't like hearing was how they are frightened for his safety because of what they see on television.
However you will hear things like we can't afford it, while we spend billions on illegal immigrants and legal maneuvers to keep the undocumented Democrats voting.
It's great to hear from you again Grace, and we're pleased to hear things are going well.
By making the contemporary ecological crisis the context within which to listen to the Fourth Gospel, readers can hear things that they never noticed before, says Daly-Denton.
I want to hear things like "the players will be in tomorrow (Sunday), working hard to rectify the problems" and "next week's training will concentrate on shooting practice" (if you watch them warming up you would see why we don't score a lot of goals) and "we are going all out to sign players that will stop this happening again" (after Saturday 11 are needed).
In that same cafe in 1955, in the coffee lounge over lunch, George Averly mentioned his hearing problem to his cerebral work colleague Simon Peake, and received some unexpected advice from him: ''Ah, okay, well you've probably heard of the Bates Method of improving eyesight - but there's also a similar method to increase hearing ability, and Siddhartha Gautama hit on this, basically through meditation and certain physical exercises.'' Nightly visits to Simon's home for meditation lessons ensued, and eventually George could calm down and hear things tenfold, but George pushed the technique too far, and eavesdropped and pried away.
It is amazing, as I can hear things like birds in the street or the fizz of opening a bottle of sparkling water.
Tony asserted that there have always been rumours of haunting and occasionally you hear things and wonder if it's just the building settling down or whether it's something else.
We walked into this room and we were supposed to stay there for a minute and be quiet so we could hear things. I don't know if they were messing with us, but the stories they told us were freaking me out."
It woke me up with a rumble noise and shook me in bed and I could hear things in the house wobbling." Sharon Rowlands: "Felt it in Eglwysbach.
Oliveira, whose club could win the Paulista championship this weekend, told Catalan radio station Ona FM: "It's a very difficult week and of course I'm angry when you hear things about Neymar.
? WHEN you hear things on telly like "I am the reflection of perfection" and "I am at the top of the food chain, I'm like a shark", it can only mean one thing.