prick up ears
prick up (one's) ears
1. Literally, of an animal, to raise its ears, as upon hearing a sudden noise. The dogs pricked up their ears and started staring outside. I wonder what they heard.
2. To pay sudden close attention to something one overhears. Be sure to prick up your ears if anything about the case is mentioned. I can't help but prick up my ears if I hear someone say my name—even if they aren't talking about me.
See also: ear, prick, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
prick up (one's) ears
To listen with attentive interest.
See also: ear, prick, up
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
prick up one's ears, to
To listen attentively. This term, which alludes to horses holding up their ears at a sudden noise, dates from the sixteenth century. Shakespeare used it in The Tempest (4.1): “Like unback’d colts, they prick’d their ears.”
See also: prick, up
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- prick up (one's) ears
- prick up its ears
- prick up one's ears
- prick up one's ears, to
- prick up your ears
- prick up
- get (one's) ears lowered
- pop (one's) ears
- lower
- prick (one's) ears up