Play it by Ear – Meaning, Origin & Usage
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “play it by ear” in anything other than a musical context, you can be forgiven for any confusion as to its meaning. However, this article has got you covered.
We’ll be explaining what it means, how it originated, and how to use the phrase properly, with examples.Finally, we will discuss similar and related expressions.
Let’s get straight to it.
What does the phrase “play it by ear” mean?
While many people often use the phrase “play it by ear” in the literal sense of learning to play musical instruments without sheet music, the phrase can also be used in a more figurative sense…
Some time following use of the phrase in the literal sense, people began using the phrase as an idiom to refer to acting without a plan by simply responding to circumstances as they develop.
Origins of the phrase “play it by ear”
The idiom “play it by ear” is derived from the idea of being able to play music by listening to it instead of reading it off a music sheet. The first recorded use of the phrase was in John Playford’s 1658 handbook A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Musick: “To learn to play by rote or ear without book.”
However, it wasn’t until much later, specifically in the mid 20th century, in the US of A, that the phrase began to be used in the figurative sense of making decisions based on how things unfold, rather than having a strict plan from the start.
How to use the phrase correctly
You can also use the phrase “play it by ear” worded in slightly different ways, such as “play by ear” and “playing by ear”.
Everyday examples of the phrase in use
Here are some examples of the phrase in everyday use for you:
- I think it’s best not to make a decision just yet. Let’s just play it by ear for a while, see how things go.
- We need to test the waters first, play things by ear until the time is right to go for jugular.
- Let’s just keep our cards close to the chest for now and see how they want to go about things. You know, just play it by ear and see how things start to pan out.
- No plan as such, just playing it by ear and acting accordingly, adapting as we go.
- You should play the recipe by ear, taste testing as you go along.
Similar and related expressions
Here are some examples of similar, synonymous and alternative phrases that can often be used in place of the phrase “play it by ear” in the figurative context:
- Wing it
- Ad-lib
- Improvise
- Without a game plan
- See how it goes
- Through trial and error
Final word
While many people use the phrase “play it by ear” in a literal sense, it’s often used as a metaphor for making decisions based on how things unfold rather than from having a plan in advance.
