What is the origin of "Put the flea in the ear"?

When someone puts a flea in the ear, it can mean different things, depending on where you live. English speakers differ in the exact meaning of this sentence, and in other languages ​​there are many versions that are also quite diverse. The beginnings of the term are quite clear, but it seems that the confusion about the meaning appeared almost as soon as the sentence did. Many people tried to control the populations of parasites in their homes and communities and get a flea into the ear would be extremely unpleasant, because the creation would probably have been saved from the 14th century and may have bitten pain and irritation.

. In a somewhat obscene French poem, the poet writes about inserting a flea into the ear of a young woman in the sense that she would make her intoxicated by a desire. The Dutch used this sentence in the sense of restless or nervous, probably because one would, of course, jerk about flea in the ear canal.

English authors first met with a term in translation and they were obviously uncertain what it meant. Over time, this sentence used with reference to suspicion or thoughts in one's mind that cannot be ignored. Like the theoretical flea, these thoughts buzzed and nibble hosts and force him to deal with them. The French still refer to the "insertion of fleas into the ear" in this sense and apparently left the romantic use of the term.

Americans came up with a unique twist to a phrase that has nothing to do with any of the above. They usually use this term to refer to someone rebuke or punish as in "I sent him away with flea in my ear." Probably this concerns the suffering of insects on the tone of blood, but it may be rather confusing for people who use idiom to talk about planting suspicions.

IN OTHER LANGUAGES

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