jenkins's ears
Preserved but no longer current.
On reaching London Jenkins carried his complaint (and his severed ear in a leather case) to the king and demanded reparation. At the tune little notice was taken of the incident, but some years later, in 1738, the matter was brought up again, Jenkins and his ear were examined by a committee of the House of Commons and his case became an added grieyance to the many others that culminated in war.
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 “jenkins's ears” mean?
On reaching London Jenkins carried his complaint (and his severed ear in a leather case) to the king and demanded reparation. At the tune little notice was taken of the incident, but some years later, in 1738, the matter was brought up again, Jenkins and his ear were examined by a committee of the House of Commons and his case became an added grieyance to the many others that culminated in war.
Is “jenkins's ears” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.