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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 4/25

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Pay through the nose

In British slang the word rhino means “money.” Rhinos is the Greek word for “nose” as we see the rhinoceros, the nose-horned beast. One theory is that the phrase pay through the nose evolved from the similarity of rhino and rhinos. More likely, is that it originated with the idea of being “bled” for money – via “nosebleed.”That second theory has the advantage of sustaining the basic idea of the phrase: when you pay through the nose, it’s a painful procedure because you are paying an excessively high price.

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Comments (4)

maire_cate
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
That phrase now reminds me of the scene in Chinatown when Jack Nicholson has his nose slit. I've read several books about Irish history and a few mentioned that when the Danes controlled Ireland they did a 'nose' count and levied taxes accordingly. If you didn't pay on time they would 'slit your nose.' Most of the authors discounted the historical accuracy but it's still a part of Irish lore.
Annie Deighnaugh
5 years ago
Wonder if that's related to expression to "keep your nose clean".
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Yayagal
5 years ago
Thank you, I enjoy your posts.
patriciae_gw
5 years ago
You also have pay on the nose which means paying on time.

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