rabbit ears

Noun

rabbit ears pl (plural only)

1. (plural, plural-only) An indoor dipole antenna consisting of two usually extensible rods connected to a base to form a V shape.
   • The channel was only available to older TVs because the signal was one only picked up by rabbit ears (Weaker frequency).2009 November 14, Camden Lamont, 1999, in Creepypasta, archived from the original on 21 Aug 2020
   • He wrangled the rabbit ears to the best place for channel 4.2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 139
2. (plural, plural-only) High sensitivity to heckling or insults.
   • With many of the team members having roots on the Internet[…], the company had rabbit ears when it came to online commentary. "For the people actually working on the game, it's tough to get motivated to work on something everyone is telling you will suck," bluntly states Loconto.2000, Geoff Keighley, “Knee Deep in a Dream: The Story of Daikatana”, in Gamespot, archived from the original on 15 Sep 2000
   • Colin Montgomerie has been a heckling target of U.S. crowds for years, infamous as he was for having the proverbial rabbit ears.2014 September 28, John Strege, “Colin Montgomerie on Patrick Reed: 'America needed 12 of these guys'”, in GolfDigest