Learn how to use the phrase "play it by ear".

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Episode Script:

“I don’t know what we will do. We will just have to play it by ear.”

Welcome to “ESL with Josh” - a podcast that will help you to speak more like a native English speaker. In this episode, we will consider the phrase “play it by ear” - what does it mean and how do we use it?

“Play it by ear” is an idiom, which means that we don’t understand it literally. To “play it by ear” does NOT mean to make music with your ear. To “play it by ear” does NOT have anything to do with playing anything. To “play it by ear” (as an idiom) doesn’t have anything to do with ears.

To “play it by ear” DOES mean to act without making a plan, or to improvise.

The phrase originates from the world of music. Some musicians can play music simply by listening, without using any written musical notes. We could say that they were “playing it by ear” as opposed to playing it by reading notes with their eyes. It began to be used for other situations when someone is performing or acting without any preparation written on paper.

Today the idiom is used commonly for anytime you are deciding what to do as the situation develops. For example, if you don’t have time to plan your vacation, you leave town without hotel reservations. You will “play it by ear” by finding a hotel once you arrive in the city you plan to stay.

Here are a few more examples:

• What should we do tonight? Let’s just leave the house and play it by ear.
• Let’s wait and see what the weather will be like and play it by ear.
• You need to make a plan for this presentation. Don’t play it by ear.
• I haven’t decided what to say when I see her. I will be playing it by ear.

Now it is time to take a quiz. Which of the following sentences use the idiom correctly?

1. I don’t even need my hands to play the guitar. I can play it by my ear.
2. I don’t know what I will make for dinner. I will see what’s in the refrigerator and play it by ear.
3. I can’t hear the trumpet very well. Can you play it by my ear?
4. John played it by ear and planned out every detail.

What do you think? The only correct sentence is number 2.

Now it’s time for the Joke of the Day
What has 5 toes and isn’t your foot? My foot

Thanks for listening!

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