the belly has no ears
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A hungry man will not listen to advice or arguments. The Romans had the same proverb, Venter non habet aures; and in French, Venire affame rfa point d'oreilles.
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 “the belly has no ears” mean?
A hungry man will not listen to advice or arguments. The Romans had the same proverb, Venter non habet aures; and in French, Venire affame rfa point d'oreilles.
Is “the belly has no ears” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.