Earbash is a verb which is made up of two words: ear and bash. You’re probably already familiar with ear. It’s a noun and is one of the two organs on either side of your head that you hear with. Bash is a verb and is an informal way of saying to hit hard.

You might imagine that earbash means to hit someone hard over the ears. However, this expression is figurative, so a person is not physically beaten. The Australian National University defines earbash as:

to subject (a person) to a torrent of words, to talk at great length to; to harangue

That doesn’t sound very pleasant, does it? I don’t know anyone who enjoys getting an earbashing and I don’t think anyone wants to be known as an earbasher. In some situations, though, earbashing is common. The word was first recorded in the 1940’s and it is thought to possibly come from Australian military slang. It’s not hard to imagine a drill sergeant giving the newly recruited soldiers a great deal of earbashing as they are learning the ropes.

verb – a word or phrase that describes an action, condition, or experience

noun – a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance, or quality

figurative – not meant to be interpreted in a literal way; it’s a more imaginative meaning developed from the usual meaning

beat – to hit a person or animal hard many times

torrent – a lot of something unpleasant

harangue – to speak to someone, often for a long time, in a forceful and sometimes angry way, especially to persuade them

earbashing – a long talking-to; a talking-to is a severe talk with someone who has done something wrong

earbasher – a person who earbashes

military – relating to or belonging to the armed forces

drill sergeant – a soldier of middle rank who trains new soldiers in basic military exercises

learn the ropes [idiom] – to learn how to do a job/activity