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

have an affinity for something • have an affinity
with something
have an affinity for something —
1
. feel liking for smth.: Figure
modeling may seem like an odd activity, but to those who
have an affinity for art, figure modeling makes a world of
sense. 2. (of a chemical substance) have a tendency to unite
with another substance: Alcohol has a strong affinity for water,
and is miscible with it in every proportion.
have an affinity with something —
1
. = have an affinity for
something 
1
: Some members of the community may have little
affinity with fine art found in galleries, especially art that may
be academic or conceptual. 2. (of animals, plants, etc.) have
structural similarity: Balochi has a different historical back-
ground and has no affinity with any Indian language.
have an ear for music • have Van Gogh’s ear for
music
have an ear for music —have the ability to learn music: Eva
Jane also has an ear for music. She played saxophone in her
high school band in Florida.
– 165 –
have an ear for music

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have Van Gogh’s ear for music —be tone deaf: There is some-
thing romantic about the Parisian basement dive. No matter
that the pianist has Van Gogh’s ear for music…
have an eye for something • have an eye out for
something
have an eye for something —be quick to notice or appreciate
smth. such as quality, etc.: She has an eye for color and style
in clothes.
have an eye out for something —be alert and watchful wishing
to get or acquire smth.: Mary always has an eye out for bar-
gains.
have an eye on something • have one eye on
 something
have an eye on something —
1
. choose smth. one has seen as
a desirable acquisition: I have had an eye on a dress in the
shop across the road for some time. 2. keep close watch upon
smth.: The chances are that the authorities may have had an
eye on such kind of “hardware” [torpedoes]. 3. pay careful
attention to smth.; show concern for smth.: Truly successful
companies have had an eye on quality for decades.
have one eye on something— give only part of one’s attention
to smth. while the rest is engaged elsewhere: It was a tricky
experiment — he had to have one eye on the thermometer all
the time.