Meanings
present singular third person has Van Gogh's ear for music · participle present having Van Gogh's ear for music · participle past had Van Gogh's ear for music · past had Van Gogh's ear for music
- humorousidiomaticinformalTo be tone-deaf.
Brian had Van Gogh's ear for music. When Clint told him that he said, 'Hey, that's great, thanks Clint,' like it was a compliment.
2011, Joseph O'Connor, Cowboys and Indians, page 1482 more examples
After listening to Cliff Osmond, a huge, 225-pound actor, rehearse a song he was to sing as part of his role in Kiss Me, Stupid, Billy observed, not unkindly, "You have Van Gogh's ear for music."
1970, Tom Wood, The bright side of Billy Wilder, primarily[…] some inebriated idiot belting out a karaoke number thinking that he or she is perfectly in tune and the rest of the audience is somehow captivated by the performance — most of them have Van Gogh's ear for music.
2006, Stephen Murray, Darin Jewell, Dirty Laundry, page 2
Origin
Since Van Gogh (a painter, not a musician) is famed for cutting off his own ear. The phrase is attributed to Billy Wilder.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish nie mieć słuchu muzycznego
- nie mieć słuchu muzycznegohumorous: to be tone-deaf
Russian медве́дь на у́хо наступил
- медве́дь на у́хо наступил (medvédʹ na úxo nastupil)humorous: to be tone-deaf
Cite this entry
have Van Gogh's ear for music. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20Van%20Gogh's%20ear%20for%20music
“have Van Gogh's ear for music.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20Van%20Gogh's%20ear%20for%20music. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “have Van Gogh's ear for music,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/have%20Van%20Gogh's%20ear%20for%20music.
Source: have Van Gogh's ear for music on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.