† ˈear-ˌrent Obs.
[perh. orig. f. ear n.3 + rent; but used (? punningly) with allusion to ear n.1]
? Some kind of agricultural rent. In quots. used punningly for: a. The loss of a person's ears in the pillory. b. The ‘tax’ imposed on a listener's patience by a profitless or noisy talker.
| 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. i, Raskalls would runne themselves from breath to see..you t' haue but a Hole to thrust your heads in, For which you should pay Eare-rent. 1624 Massinger Renegado iii. ii, You speak not tempests, nor take ear-rent from A poor shopkeeper. |