have one's ears lowered

Hair cuts change the relative position of the end of a person's hair and the person's ears and the term is based on the humorous supposition that the same effect could have been achieved by moving the ears lower down the person's face.

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

have one's ears lowered (third-person singular simple present has one's ears lowered, present participle having one's ears lowered, simple past and past participle had one's ears lowered)

1. (idiomatic, humorous, dated) To get a haircut.
   • 2006 June 25, “Cutting to the Chase at Barber Shop”, in New York Daily News:

     When you need a haircut, you go to a barber, so here I am at Tommy's Bronxville's tonsorial prepared to get clipped. Or, as we said as kids, have my ears lowered.