tin ear
noun
: a deafened or insensitive ear
Example Sentences
My wife is a talented musician, but I have a tin ear.
Recent Examples on the Web Like icebergs against climate change, raindrops against asphalt, Rachmaninoff against a tin ear. 
oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2022 But throughout the lengthy process, Clinton continually demonstrated a tin ear about Russia’s concerns for its security and prestige. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 27 June 2022 Sinerma didn't get this far in politics -- she's held seats in the Arizona state House and state Senate as well as in the US House prior to the Senate -- by having a tin ear, politically speaking. Chris Cillizza, CNN, 24 Jan. 2022 Pelley comes close to asking a tough question about Sullivan’s tin ear (at best) on race, noting the incident when, as then-editor of The New Republic, Sullivan published an excerpt of a book asserting genetic deficits in IQ among Black people. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 15 Nov. 2021 In both productions, the metaphors for corruption and predatory capitalism are so obvious that even my tin ear for symbolism could hear them. Clarence Page, chicagotribune.com, 15 Oct. 2021 The stocky, bearded Yetnikoff was a onetime lawyer with a sharp mind, a foul mouth, a big heart, a tin ear, a roving eye and an extraordinary temper, a Jewish kid from Brooklyn whose hunger for recognition and power drove him to excess in every way. Hillel Italie, ajc, 11 Aug. 2021 While such sentiments might lead to the allocation of more resources, or support back home, they are said with a tin ear. Mark Gevisser, Time, 24 June 2021 Markey also found himself on the defense at times during the campaign, with Kennedy repeatedly trying to portray him as having a tin ear to racial equity concerns. Steve Leblanc, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2020 See More
oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2022 But throughout the lengthy process, Clinton continually demonstrated a tin ear about Russia’s concerns for its security and prestige. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 27 June 2022 Sinerma didn't get this far in politics -- she's held seats in the Arizona state House and state Senate as well as in the US House prior to the Senate -- by having a tin ear, politically speaking. Chris Cillizza, CNN, 24 Jan. 2022 Pelley comes close to asking a tough question about Sullivan’s tin ear (at best) on race, noting the incident when, as then-editor of The New Republic, Sullivan published an excerpt of a book asserting genetic deficits in IQ among Black people. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 15 Nov. 2021 In both productions, the metaphors for corruption and predatory capitalism are so obvious that even my tin ear for symbolism could hear them. Clarence Page, chicagotribune.com, 15 Oct. 2021 The stocky, bearded Yetnikoff was a onetime lawyer with a sharp mind, a foul mouth, a big heart, a tin ear, a roving eye and an extraordinary temper, a Jewish kid from Brooklyn whose hunger for recognition and power drove him to excess in every way. Hillel Italie, ajc, 11 Aug. 2021 While such sentiments might lead to the allocation of more resources, or support back home, they are said with a tin ear. Mark Gevisser, Time, 24 June 2021 Markey also found himself on the defense at times during the campaign, with Kennedy repeatedly trying to portray him as having a tin ear to racial equity concerns. Steve Leblanc, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Sep. 2020 See More Word History
First Known Use
1935, in the meaning defined above