Word Study
tin ear
WORDNET DICTIONARY
Noun tin ear has 2 senses
- tin ear(n = noun.state) tone deafness - an inability to distinguish differences in pitch; Array is a kind of deafness, hearing loss
- tin ear(n = noun.attribute) Array - insensitivity to the appropriateness or subtlety of language; "he has a tin ear for dialogue" is a kind of insensitiveness, insensitivity
For further exploring for "tin ear" in Webster Dictionary Online