EAVESDROP, v.i.
Secretly to overhear a catalogue of the crimes and vices of another or yourself.
A lady with one of her ears applied To an open keyhole heard, inside, Two female gossips in converse free-- The subject engaging them was she. "I think," said one, "and my husband thinks That she's a prying, inquisitive minx!" As soon as no more of it she could hear The lady, indignant, removed her ear. "I will not stay," she said, with a pout, "To hear my character lied about!"
Gopete Sherany
--Ambrose Bierce - The Devil's Dictionary