Idiom: It fell on deaf ears--in Spanish

Question

Is there any way to say "It fell on deaf ears" in Spanish or something like "His plans to tell her that her friend was a liar were frustrated by her deafness"?

I'm translating something on King Lear for a college application, and I want to say that Lear's deafness to the Fool's advice prevented him from knowing how to save himself, but I have a sneaking suspicion that "sordera" is only a physical deafness. Any help would be appreciated!

By the way, what I have written right now is: Por astucia, el Tonto trata forzar Lear darse cuenta para él mismo y prevenir una pobreza y desaliento inminente de un gran rey, pero sus planes siempre están frustrados por la “sordera” de Lear a lo que no quiere oír.

Thanks guys! Here's praying I get in. :) - slkey, Jun 2, 2010

To those who helped me with my first SpanishDict question: thank you. I DID get into graduate school, the Master's Program in Spanish, and my Spanish has improved greatly since then. I appreciate the time you took to help me out. - slkey, Jun 9, 2011

Answer 1

You could say, Su rechazo del consejo del tonto le previno saber como salvarse a sí mismo.

Love it Julian. What does it mean? - geofc, May 23, 2010

His rejection of the fool's counsel prevented him from knowing how to save himself. Or something along those lines. - 0074b507, May 23, 2010

Exactly, gfreed! In this case, "Counsel" is a good translation. In other contexts, "Advice" would be a better translation of "Consejo." In old Mexican cowboy films, a guy would pull out his gun and say, "Te doy un consejo." - 005faa61, Jun 2, 2010

Answer 2

From the Span¡shd!ct phrasebook, which is at the top of the page under more...

To fall on deaf ears---- caer en saco roto