1884. Saturday Review, 9 Feb., 178. To bring a hidden crime to light by means of the policeman's NOSE.
Verb. (old).—1. See quots. 1598 and 1785.
1596. Shakspeare, Hamlet, iv. 3. You shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby.
1598. Florio, Worlde of Wordes, Nasare, to smell, to scent, TO NOSE.
1728. Bailey, Eng. Dict., s.v.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v. Nose, to nose a stink, to smell it.
2. (common).—To pry; to suspect; to discover.
1651. Cartwright, Ordinary, v. 5. Nosing a little treason 'gainst the King.
1662. Rump Songs, i. 60. We will thrust them out of the Main-yard, If they do but nose us.
1664. Cotton, Virgil Travestie (1st ed.). Must these same Trojan Rascals nose me, Because the Fates (forsooth) oppose me?
1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v.
1821. Egan, Life in London, II. v. You are determined no one shall nose your ideas. Ibid. Their ogles were on the roll, under an apprehension that the beaks were "on the nose."
1830. Westminster Rev., April, The Six Acts. The public that nosed the 'Six Acts' gave the title that has stuck by them; and condemned them to everlasting remembrance by the energy of its simplicity. 1830. Moncrieff, The Heart of London, ii. 1. I nose: up to snuff.
1838. Glascock, Land Sharks and Sea Gulls, ii. 103. Go to the landlord an' ax if he knows the cove:—'t won't do to be nosed, you know.
1889. Detroit Free Press, 16 Feb. He said he didn't like one nosing around downstairs.
3. (thieves').—To inform.
1821. Egan, Life in London, 278. No, no, no! no nosing.
1823. Grose, Vulg. Tongue [Egan], s.v. Nose. His pall nosed, and he was twisted for a crack; his confederate turned king's evidence, and he was hanged for burglary.
1829. The Lag's Lament [Farmer, Musa Pedestris (1896), III.]. I adwise you TO NOSE on your pals.
1834. Ainsworth, Roohwood, v. i. Nor was he ever known to NOSE upon any of his accomplices; or in other words to betray them.
4. (old).—See quot. 1775.
1775. Ash. Dict., s.v. Nose. To bluster, to look big.
1785. Grose, Vulg. Tongue, s.v.
5. (old).—See quot.
1819. Vaux, Memoirs, s.v. Nose . . . To nose upon any one, is to tell of anything he has said or done with a view to injure him, or to benefit yourself.
[Many colloquialisms are here conveniently grouped: e.g., TO PUT ONE'S NOSE OUT OF JOINT = to supplant; TO WIPE ONE'S NOSE = (1) to cozen; (2) to affront; and (3) in medicine, to discover an error in diagnosis and alter treatment (the mistaken practitioner is said to have his nose wiped); TO PUT ONE'S NOSE IN THE MANGER = to eat; TO FOLLOW ONE'S NOSE = to go straight forward; TO LEAD BY THE NOSE = to govern; TO PAY THROUGH THE NOSE = to pay extravagantly; TO PUT ONE'S NOSE INTO ANYTHING = to meddle; TO TURN UP ONE'S NOSE = to disdain; TO CAST IN (or TO PLAY WITH) ONE'S NOSE = to twit, or to ridicule; TO HAVE ONE'S NOSE ON THE GRINDSTONE = to be held at a disadvantage; TO BE BORED THROUGH THE NOSE = to be cheated; IN SPITE OF YOUR NOSE = in your teeth; TO BITE (or TO CUT OFF) ONE'S NOSE TO SPITE ONE'S FACE = to be revenged to one's own detriment; TO TELL (or TO COUNT) NOSES = to appeal to numbers; TO MAKE A PERSON'S NOSE SWELL = to make jealous; TO MEASURE NOSES = to meet; TO TAKE PEPPER IN THE NOSE = (1) to take offence; and (2) to mistrust; AS PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON ONE'S FACE = beyond argument; A GOOD NOSE = a smell-feast; TO MAKE A BRIDGE OF SOMEONE'S NOSE = to pass in drinking, also to supersede; TO HOLD UP ONE'S NOSE = to be proud; A NOSE OF WAX = a complaisant or accommodating disposition; CANDLES (or DEWDROPS) IN THE NOSE = snots; ON THE NOSE = on the look out; A NOSE TO LIGHT CANDLES AT = a drunkard's nose, a poop-lantern; YOUR NOSE UP MY ARSE = an expression of supreme contempt; A LONG NOSE IS A
