Little Pitchers?

Charlottesville

Christmas Eve 2021

You might recall this scene from early in A Christmas Story when Mister Parker is cursing that his car is frozen up. Ralphie’s mom says “Little pitchers” to him just before he hears the furnace making noise due to a clinker.

Little pitchers? What in the name of Sam Hill is she talking about?

The full expression is “little pitchers have big ears.” It is an allusion to the ear-shaped handles common on pitchers used for serving liquids. What it means is that small children often overhear more of what is said than adults realize or desire.

In others words, their ears are FRAGILE. 🤪