Question

Keep Your Ear to the Ground to pay attention and be well-informed

Accepted Answer

Years ago my uncle kept his ear to the ground and invested in cable TV, and today he's a millionaire. In the late 1800s, when this expression first came into use, European Americans and Native Americans often fought. To tell if the enemy was riding toward them on horseback, people would actually put an ear right to the ground. They could often hear the sound of the hooves of approaching horses. Today this expression means to watch and listen closely to signs that might show the way things will go in the future.

Idiom	Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Example	Years ago my uncle kept his ear to the ground and invested in cable TV, and today he's a millionaire.
Meaning	to pay attention and be well-informed
Origin	In the late 1800s, when this expression first came into use, European Americans and Native Americans often fought. To tell if the enemy was riding toward them on horseback, people would actually put an ear right to the ground. They could often hear the sound of the hooves of approaching horses. Today this expression means to watch and listen closely to signs that might show the way things will go in the future.

Ear Ground Today Expression Americans Years Ago Uncle