Dionysius's Ear
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A bell-shaped chamber connected by an underground passage with the king's palace. Its object was to enable the tyrant of Syracuse to overhear what was passing in the prison.
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 “Dionysius's Ear” mean?
A bell-shaped chamber connected by an underground passage with the king's palace. Its object was to enable the tyrant of Syracuse to overhear what was passing in the prison.
Is “Dionysius's Ear” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.