Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

May 30, 2003

This week's theme
Metallic words used as metaphors

This week's words
goldbrick
silver bullet
brassy
leaden
tin ear

This week’s comments
AWADmail 89

Next week’s theme
Numeric terms

---

tin ear

noun:
1. Insensitivity to differences in music or speech sounds.
2. Inability to appreciate subtle differences in a particular discipline.

[From the idea of metal being incapable of sensation.]

"For an ex-steelworker, Doug Cameron has a tin ear. He seems deaf to the motif of the times. If you listen to Cameron - national secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Union - you'd think Qantas is a certain winner in the only market that matters: domestic."
Turbulence Ahead For the Airlines; The Australian (Sydney); Oct 24, 2001.

"Lloyd Ward's credibility is now under siege. Previously, he had drawn criticism for failing to disclose that he was a member of Augusta National Golf Club, which prohibits women from becoming members, a policy in direct contradiction with the Olympic movement. While Olympic committee volunteers have shown poor management skills, management types have had a tin ear for effectively running a sports union."
Jere Longman; Professionalism Eludes US Olympic Committee; The New York Times; Jan 26, 2003.

X-Bonus