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Tweeted twitter.com/#!/StackEnglish/status/280160868174536705
added 65 characters in body
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tylerharms
tylerharms
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I have seen both

Set something on its ear

and

Turn something on its ear

to mean make a surprising changemake a surprising change in a certain area.

I've been looking for its origins, which google ngram registers as far back as the 1920s, but have come up dry. Does anyone have any knowledge--etymological or anecdotal--of where this came from and why "ear"?

I have seen both

Set something on its ear

and

Turn something on its ear

to mean make a surprising change in a certain area.

I've been looking for its origins, which google ngram registers as far back as the 1920s, but have come up dry. Does anyone have any knowledge--etymological or anecdotal--of where this came from and why "ear"?

I have seen both

Set something on its ear

and

Turn something on its ear

to mean make a surprising change in a certain area.

I've been looking for its origins, which google ngram registers as far back as the 1920s, but have come up dry. Does anyone have any knowledge--etymological or anecdotal--of where this came from and why "ear"?

Source Link
tylerharms
tylerharms
  • 8.3k
  • 5
  • 38
  • 65

Origin of "Set on Its Ear"

I have seen both

Set something on its ear

and

Turn something on its ear

to mean make a surprising change in a certain area.

I've been looking for its origins, which google ngram registers as far back as the 1920s, but have come up dry. Does anyone have any knowledge--etymological or anecdotal--of where this came from and why "ear"?