rubber ear
n.— «While Scots have never been backward about coming forward with complaints, they stand more chance of getting the rubber-ear treatment than anywhere else. According to the survey, 15 per cent of Scots interviewed complained that their complaints had been ignored.» —“No Whine Please, We’re Scots!” Scottish Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) Aug. 22, 1994. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Get a shower or take a shower? Grace, a caller from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says her fiancé, also from Philadelphia, always says he’s going to get a shower, while she always says she’s going to take a shower. North American English usually...
A kerfuffle is a fuss, bother, or disturbance. It’s from Scots curfuffle, likely from Scottish Gaelic car, meaning “turn,” “bend,” or “twist,” plus fuffle, a Scots word that means “to disorder” or “to ruffle.” Early forms like carfuffle and...