A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

Note: 
The expression does not correlate in meaning with the
phrase give someone an earful—(coll.)
1
. give smb. a severe
scolding: I gave him an earful for not having a fire extinguisher,
because he should know better. 2. provide some information to
a person: I didn’t know much about literature … but he gave
me an earful each and every day.
give someone a ticking-off • tick someone off
give someone a ticking-off —(coll.) scold or reprimand a per-
son: The referee gave Mike a ticking-off. Not that he cared.
tick someone off —
1
. put a mark by smb.’s name on a list: I
ask each kid one question, ticking them off as they answer. 2.
mark smb. as a potential object for vengeance or hostility: If
anyone starts fault-finding he is immediately “ticked off.” 3.
= give someone a ticking-off: He was “ticked off ” by one of the
boys for leaving his car unlocked and complete with ignition
key. 4. (U.S. sl.) annoy or anger a person: It ticks me off when
I have to study and somebody makes noise.
give someone a tip • give someone a tip-off
give someone a tip —
1
. give a gift of money to a waiter, porter,
etc.: I gave him a tip, a small one, because I try to be nice to
the people who make me angry. 2. provide a person with priv-
ileged information likely to bring useful results: Some politi-
cians gave him a tip that Prohibition was starting to lose
ground.
give someone a tip-off — = give someone a tip 2: A while ago
a guy I met gave me a tip-off about a secluded beach some-
where in Goa.
give someone an idea • give someone ideas
give someone an idea —give a person a general notion of
smth.: I will now give you an idea of the type of thing you
will be required to do.
give someone ideas —(also: put ideas into someone’s head) give
smb. a falsely high opinion of oneself: Mrs. Serafino was not
effusive in her thanks to the girl. It might give her ideas.