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pay through the nose

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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WOTD – 13 November 2024

Etymology

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Origin uncertain; according to the American etymologist and linguistAnatoly Liberman (born 1937), probably a nautical term drawing an analogy between paying a large sum of money andpaying out ananchor’s cable or chain through thehawseholes at thebow (metaphorically the “nose”) of a ship.[1] He is unconvinced of other explanations such as the following:[2]

  • The term is said to derive from the story of the Norse godOdin levying a tax on the nose of every Swede. However, Liberman is of the view that it is unclear why a god would require money.
  • Alternatively, the term is said to be fromOld Norsenef-gildi(“poll tax payable to the king”, literally“nose-tax”),nose being asynecdoche referring to a person, because the Irish were required to pay such a tax to the Vikings who conquered them (795–1169C.E.). Liberman points out that the English term is only attested centuries after this period.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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paythroughthenose (third-person singular simple presentpays through the nose,present participlepaying through the nose,simple past and past participlepaid through the nose)

  1. (idiomatic) Topay anexorbitant orexcessiveamount, either inmoney or in some othermanner.[from 17th c.]
    Hypernym:pay over the odds
    • 1650, G[eorge] W[alker],Anglo-tyrannus, or The Idea of a Norman Monarch, Represented in the Paralell Reignes ofHenrie the Third andCharles Kings of England, […]‎[2], London:[…] George Thompson […],→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2019-04-15,page20:
      Observe here the happy estate of our Ancestors under Monarchy, who, if they gained but this advantage[…] of receiving a few good Grants, and enjoying a pittance of Freedom, once in 4 or 5 ages when their King was too young to playRex, and there hapned a wise and honest Protector; yet were sure topay through the nose for it afterwards with double and treble interest for forbearance.
    • 1672, [Andrew Marvell],The Rehearsal Transpros’d: Or, Animadversions upon a Late Book, Entituled, A Preface, Shewing what Grounds there are of Fears and Jealousies of Popery, London:[s.n.],→OCLC,page270:
      But vvhen they came to ſeek for Match, and Bullet, and Povvder, there vvas none to be had. The Fanaticks had bought it all up, and made thempay for it moſt unconſcionably, andthrough the noſe.
    • 1751, [Alain-René Lesage], “Gil Blas Acquires the Theatrical Taste, Abandons Himself to the Pleasures of a Comic Life, with which however, He is Disgusted in a Little Time”, in [Tobias George Smollett], transl.,The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London:[…] J. Osborn, […],→OCLC, book III,page257:
      [F]armers of the revenue vvere admitted, vvho, far from being gratified for their preſence, as they are in their ovvn aſſemblies, vvere obliged topay through the noſe for their reception.
    • 1782, [Frances Burney], “A Prating”, inCecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. […], volume V, London:[…]T[homas] Payne and Son […], andT[homas] Cadell […],→OCLC, book X,page287:
      [S]he[a lady]'s a mere nobody, as one may ſay, till ſhe can get herſelf a huſband, being ſhe knovvs nothing of buſineſs, and is made topay for every thingthrough the noſe.
    • 1795 December, “[Monthly Chronicle. Home News.] Hare and Stag Chace.”, inThe Freemasons’ Magazine: Or, General and Complete Library, volume V, London:[…] J. Parsons, […],→OCLC,page433:
      Several persons have already left offsnuff-taking, in consequence of the additional duty on tobacco, observing that they have no idea ofpaying through the nose for the expence of war.
    • 1889,Robert Louis Stevenson,Lloyd Osbourne, “Final Adjustment of the Leather Business”, inThe Wrong Box, London:Longmans, Green, and Co.,→OCLC,page282:
      I seem to understand that this gentleman[…] is thefons et origo of the trouble; and, from what I gather, he has alreadypaid through the nose.
    • 1918,Peter B[ernhard] Kyne, chapter XXXVI, inThe Valley of the Giants, New York, N.Y.:Grosset & Dunlap,→OCLC,page358:
      "You'llpay through the nose for this, you scoundrel," Sexton whimpered. "I'll fix you, you traitor."
    • 1920,John Galsworthy, “Where Forsytes Fear to Tread”, inIn Chancery (The Forsyte Saga; 2), London:William Heinemann,→OCLC, part II,page159:
      [T]hat fellow would milk the settlements somehow, and make his familypay through the nose to keep him out of bankruptcy or perhaps even gaol!
    • 1995,Francine Mathews, chapter 1, inDeath in Rough Water (A Merry Folger Mystery), New York, N.Y.:William Morrow and Company,→ISBN,page12:
      Somebody figured out that a harpooned fish dies quicker and tastes better than one caught by the long-liners' nets. Whole Foodspays through the nose for it, all over the country. So do restaurants.
    • 2021 April 8, “Brace for the Amazon effect on live sport”, inThe Economist‎[3], London:The Economist Group,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2021-04-08:
      At a time when other entertainment is available at a sliver of the price from Netflix and other streaming services, live sport is the only thing left to induce viewers topay through the nose for pay-TV.

Translations

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to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount

See also

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References

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  1. ^Anatoly Liberman (2024 February) “A Few Idioms”, inOrigin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology, New York, N.Y.:Oxford University Press,→DOI,→ISBN, pages302–303 (also atAnatoly Liberman (2010 October 13) “Why Pay through the Nose?”, inOUPblog‎[1], archived fromthe original on2024-02-05), quotingRichard Edgcumbe (1898 December 3) “Horse-Marine”, inNotes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, General Readers, etc., volume II (9th Series), number49, London:[…] John Edward Francis, […][for]John C. Francis […],→OCLC,pages456–457:
    Then, again, “Paying through the nose.” This was originally a common expression on board ship: “Pay out the cable,” “pay out handsomely.” The nose of a ship is, of course, the bow; its nostrils are the hawse holes on either side. Now, it does not seem very difficult (at all events, for a sailor) to associate extortionate disbursements with handsome payments—such, for instance, as paying out a chain cable (through the nose), especially when the order is conveyed in such language as this, “Pay out handsomely.” At all events, I can speak on this matter from personal experience as a midshipman. To my mind “paying through the nose” for anything has always been associated with the rattling of a “payed out” chain cable, after the anchor has gripped the ground.
  2. ^Liberman, pages 301–302.

Further reading

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