Question

Lend an Ear to listen and pay attention to

Accepted Answer

I know you're very busy, but could you just lend me your ear for a minute? This saying, of course, doesn't really mean to lend someone your ears as you would lend him or her a pencil. In William Shakespeare's time, around 1600, it was a common way of asking that you listen to the person speaking. Shakespeare used this expression in the play Julius Caesar when he had his character Mark Antony shout to a noisy crowd of Romans at the funeral of the assassinated Julius Caesar, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." The crowd quickly quieted and listened to what Mark Antony had to say. The expression caught on.

Idiom	Lend an Ear
Example	I know you're very busy, but could you just lend me your ear for a minute?
Meaning	to listen and pay attention to
Origin	This saying, of course, doesn't really mean to lend someone your ears as you would lend him or her a pencil. In William Shakespeare's time, around 1600, it was a common way of asking that you listen to the person speaking. Shakespeare used this expression in the play Julius Caesar when he had his character Mark Antony shout to a noisy crowd of Romans at the funeral of the assassinated Julius Caesar, "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears." The crowd quickly quieted and listened to what Mark Antony had to say. The expression caught on.

Lend Ear Listen Expression Julius Mark Antony Crowd