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little pitchers have big ears

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Little pitchers have big ears.

Prov. Children like to listen to adult conversations and can understand a lot of what they hear. (Used to warn another adult not to talk about something because there is a child present.) I started to tell Mary about the date I had on Saturday, but she interrupted me, saying, "Little pitchers have big ears," and looked pointedly at her six-year-old daughter, who was in the room with us.

See also: big, ear, have, little, pitcher

little pitchers have big ears

Young children often overhear something they should not. For example, Don't use any swear words around Brian-little pitchers have big ears. This metaphoric expression, which likens the curved handle of a pitcher to the human ear, was already in John Heywood's proverb collection of 1546.

See also: big, ear, have, little, pitcher