boeotian ears
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Ears unable to appreciate music or rhetoric. Well, friend, I assure thee thou hast not got Boeotian ears [because you can appreciate the beauties of my sermons], — LE SAGE: Gil Bias, vii, 3.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “boeotian ears” mean?
Ears unable to appreciate music or rhetoric. Well, friend, I assure thee thou hast not got Boeotian ears [because you can appreciate the beauties of my sermons], — LE SAGE: Gil Bias, vii, 3.
Is “boeotian ears” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.