Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) cadging, begging.

1901		Bulletin (Sydney) 12 Oct. 25/1: He ‘picks up a bit’ hanging round one or other of the halls – seconding, boxing introductory bouts for ‘showers’ (which are so often sought nowadays that they don’t yield more than a few ‘deeners’ a time), or ‘ear-biting.’.
1910		Sporting Times 8 Jan. 10/1: There is a member of the ear-biting fraternity who is everlastingly eloquent anent the ‘half-stretch’ served out to him in his sinful youth as a punishment for the snapping up of certain ‘unconsidered trifles’.
1929		J.B. Booth London Town 305: ‘Tapping,’ ‘prossing,’ or ‘ear-biting’ was strictly forbidden in the club precincts.
1954		Wodehouse Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit 3: It is not often that one is confronted with ear-biting on so majestic a scale.