A person decides for himself whether to do what he is asked to do or not. And you don’t need to persuade him, and you don’t need to beg either. No one will like it if you give orders and instructions in an imperative tone, and no one will follow them. In the topic of today's publication, we will consider what it means to "pull by the ears." Is it worth it? And if so, when?
History of the expression, its meaning
This idiom owes its origin to the ancient Romans. They used this expression when a witness did not appear in court on any issues to testify. They then had the right to pull him by the ears in the literal sense of the word, which sometimes happened to negligent citizens.
There is another version of the origin of this phrase. So, in translation from French, “pull by the ears” means “force oneself to beg” or literally translates as “force to pull one's ear.”
In Russian there isa synonymous expression, which is close in meaning to the described one, is "pull by the hair".
Less heat, more irritation
In family relationships, no one is immune from quarrels and misunderstandings. Sometimes even the smallest request goes unheeded. Then we start demanding again, then we get nervous, then we fight. And in order to avoid this, oddly enough, knowing the meaning of the phraseologism "pull by the ears" will help not to aggravate the conflict with a loved one.
This unconvincing, illogical expression should teach each of us that giving orders to a loved one will only cause a wave of irritation. In order to understand why there was stubbornness and tension between you, try to mentally switch places. Think about how nice it would be to be literally far-fetched?
Don't pull the blanket over you
Make a person feel important, and he will be more than happy to do the favor and fulfill the request. And if you ask for something, it would be better to turn to positive memories, then you certainly won’t need to attract anyone by the ears.
Let's give a simple illustrative example from our life. For example, when meeting a friend after a vacation, you exclaim: “You had a great rest in Turkey, but I went to Fiji.” After such an appeal, you should not even ask this person to do anything, since you just let him know how much heinsignificant in your eyes. Trying to put yourself above a friend in this way, you will receive an appropriate reaction when you need to ask this person.
Another option
There are also situations in life when the meaning of "pull by the ears" takes a different turn. Each of us had to deal with human stupidity, greed, dishonesty. In response to this, one sometimes has to show perseverance, sometimes even forced cruelty, and sometimes resort to criticism. In response to this, people begin to defend themselves. It is possible that in response you yourself will hear the expression "pull by the ears", which in the current situation will be interpreted as an unfounded accusation that you yourself created against them.
And vice versa, unconvincing attempts to justify themselves are also characterized by this expression. Here are some examples of synonyms:
- illegal;
- unfounded;
- unproven;
- false;
- failed;
- optional;
- thumbs up;
- take from the ceiling;
- pull hair;
- unreasonable;
- unconvincing.
The article discusses the meaning of a popular phraseological unit and gives its synonyms.
