“A flea in his ear”
Fifteenth-century phrase suggesting receipt of a stinging rebuke
“The doctor‘s watch were all back at their loopholes, the rest were busy loading the spare muskets, and everyone with a red face, you may be certain, and a flea in his ear, as the saying is.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
Describing the state of the crew after the captain reprimanded them for leaving no one on watch
