I think of "Mrs. Doyle" and I still imagine my mother-in-law talking in that good ole' Steubenville accent. Her voice with that slightly nasal tone reminded me of a 1960's sitcom character,but for the life of me cannot remember who. She had her wonderful quirky ways about her that never failed to make you smile.
"We'll play it by ear" was her favorite saying.
What exactly does that mean???
Respective of my elders, I always smiled and agreed.
But why not, "We'll see what we have going on" or "I'm not sure, let me check my calender" or maybe event the more definitive "Yes or No"?
Why use that most irritating of American idioms "We'll play it by ear"?
I researched this phrase this morning after making the kids breakfast. I woke up at 5am this morning with this in my head. Why, do you ask? Call it a sentimental moment or, after trying to research the origins of this idiom, a fleeting moment of insanity. Fleeting, being the key word, because had I continued on this task I would certainly have become a walking migraine.
I googled, binged, duck duck go'd "We'll play it by ear" and was quite unimpressed with what I found. I mean, if your going to have and idiom, be a little responsible and provide some basic facts about it. ( ie. where did it come from? where did it originate?)
I even discovered a Wordreference forum that argued back and forth the origins of the phrase!
As per The Free Dictionary by Farfax,
Play it by ear is defined: to decide how to deal with a situation as it develops rather than planning how you are going to react.
Wiki defines it as improvisation, the act of inventing all or part of a process as it is performed
Other individual definitions I found included:
1. The options are there, unless something better comes up...
2. It means be causal. Go with the flow. Don't have any great expectations but don't rule anything out. Just be in the moment and let it carry you where ever.
3.It means he waiting for the chick that's hotter than you to let him know if she's free. Sad... but true. Men! Such dumbasses. If he doesn't step up and say this time - this place - I'll pick you up or blah, blah, blah THEN HE'S JUST NOT THAT IN TO YOU!
4.It means to not make concrete plans but to act it out as you go. More specifically, it's like you're playing (like the piano) without sheet music and anything can happen....
5.Musically the meaning is to play a piece of music without having the written sheet of music before you,letting your ear or sense of tone be your guide.It has come to mean wait & watch , observe the turn of events & then make your decision .
So, looking at the above, I can only conclude that Play it By Ear was originally referenced for musicians playing their musical instruments without the aid of instruction or sheet music to follow. To play at a whim or to decide on a whim. No planning, no stress, no commitment. If I am able to I will!
And there you have it my friends, a way to decrease some of the tensions in your life. Just "play it by ear"!
