earfuln.
/ˈɪəfʊl/, U.S. /ˈɪ(ə)rˌfʊl/ colloquial.
1. As much (talk) as a person's ears can take in at one time; (hence) a large quantity of talk, gossip, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > [noun] > large quantity of talk
earful1858
1858 G. W. Thornbury in Househ. Words 20 Nov. 531/1 Snatch an earful or two of the musical mass.
1864 R. D. Blackmore Clara Vaughan III. iv. xiii. 56 We had..taken, or rather listened to, long earfuls of advice.
1867 All Year Round 9 Nov. 476/1 Running backwards and forwards for an earful at a time.
1901 A. Hodder New Americans xxx. 228 I never met any one who could give you an earful in the same class with the things the madam could say in her little domestic conferences.
1917 R. W. Lardner Gullible's Trav. 27 I and my Missus and Mrs. Hatch clubbed together on the straps and I got a earful o' the real dope.
1929 W. R. Burnett Little Caesar iv. i. 106 I want the boys to get an earful. Go ahead and spill it.
1944 W. Stevens Let. 13 Mar. (1967) 462 He said that the Germans had not changed since Tacitus described them. Considering that I was only waiting for the shop to open, this was rather an earful.
1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 56 I tried to get an earful when I heard somebody out on the landing-place.
2009 Furrow 60 174 I think there should be no place for those intrusive cassette players giving us an earful of the latest ‘pop music’.
2. A strong reprimand; a rebuke, a telling-off.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun] > severe > instance of
choking pear1546
choke-pear1573
a flea in one's ear1577
rattle1652
juniper letter1655
juniper lecture1706
siserary1771
wig1789
a word of a sort1796
rowing1812
wigging1813
sloan1823
scorcher1842
rubdowna1846
tickler1846
slating1881
bawl-out1926
earful1929
caning1933
a kick in the pants1933
rollicking1938
rocket1941
bollocking1946
butt-kicking1970
1929 W. R. Burnett Little Caesar iv. ii. 119 I'll have to go over and give that bird an earful.
1945 L. A. G. Strong Othello's Occupation 49 She got one of the hottest earfuls I ever heard.
1964 Times 11 Feb. 11/7 I used to put a bottle on the seat and if it rolled off when the pupil let his clutch out, he got an earful.
2011 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) (Nexis) 18 Sept. 94 Ally McCoist..copped an earful from his furious parents when he got home.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1858