make ears bleed

[alpacinou]

Please see this video:

At 32:20, he says "I make people's ears bleed." Is that an idiom? I couldn't find it on the Internet.

Can I use it when I want to say someone is boring me?

Is this okay?

I'm really not keen on going to the party. I think Jerry's uncle is going to make my ears bleed talking about the importance of social justice.

 

[teechar]

Are you sure you got the timestamp right?

 

[probus]

It's certainly before because I've verified it's not between 32:20 and the end. Without hearing his remark in context I'd hazard a guess that he's lavishing some hyperbolic praise on himself. That would be in character judging by the last part that I listened to.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's commonly used in BrE. It can be used to refer to someone who drones on and on about something, probably boring the listener. It's more usually used to refer to something that sounds horrible (to the listener), such as a particular singer or similar.

I can't listen to Tina Turner sing. It makes my ears bleed.

We use a similar phrase - make my eyes bleed - when we see something we don't like. It's been used on this forum before, when people give examples of appalling use of apostrophes.

 

[alpacinou]

https://imgur.com/a/i6js92z

It was 31:20, folks, so I apologize.

 

[alpacinou]

It's commonly used in BrE. It can be used to refer to someone who drones on and on about something, probably boring the listener. It's more usually used to refer to something that sounds horrible (to the listener), such as a particular singer or similar.

I can't listen to Tina Turner sing. It makes my ears bleed.

We use a similar phrase - make my eyes bleed - when we see something we don't like. It's been used on this forum before, when people give examples of appalling use of apostrophes.

Are these correct:

1. The professor made our ears bleed by another boring lecture.
2. -I'm going to the pub with John. -I think he's going to make yours bleed. He's very talkative these days.
3. The president is about to give a speech. I think he's gonna make all our ears bleed.
4. For me, the most boring class in high school was sociology. We had a boring teacher who made our ears bleed.
5. The music at the wedding party was awful. It made my ears bleed.
6. I'm really not keen on going to the party. I think Jerry's uncle is going to make my ears bleed talking about the importance of social justice.

 

[emsr2d2]

Are these correct:

1. The professor made our ears bleed by with another boring lecture.
2. I'm going to the pub with John. I think he's going to make yours your ears bleed. He's very talkative these days.
3. The president is about to give a speech. I think he's gonna make all our ears bleed.
4. For me, the most boring class in high school was sociology. We had a boring teacher who made our ears bleed.
5. The music at the wedding party reception was awful. It made my ears bleed.
6. I'm really not keen on going to the party. I think Jerry's uncle is going to make my ears bleed talking about the importance of social justice.

With my changes, they're grammatical. However, only #5 sounds natural to me, for the reasons I gave in my previous response. Using it to refer to boredom is understandable but it wouldn't be the choice of most native BrE speakers.

 

[alpacinou]

With my changes, they're grammatical. However, only #5 sounds natural to me, for the reasons I gave in my previous response. Using it to refer to boredom is understandable but it wouldn't be the choice of most native BrE speakers.

What's used to refer to boredom? I already know "bore pants off". Is there another idiom for it?

 

[emsr2d2]

bore me to death; bore me to tears

 

[probus]

One of the best putdowns I ever heard was:

If boring was an Olympic sport he'd be boring for England.

 

[emsr2d2]

One of the best putdowns I ever heard was:

If boring was an Olympic sport he'd be boring for England.

I've heard a slightly different version:

If boring was an Olympic sport, he'd be a gold medallist.