Idiom
Pay through the nose
To pay through the nose is to pay much more than something is worth or more than is fair.
How people use it
People use it for prices that feel unfair or inflated: We paid through the nose for parking at the stadium. It is informal and usually a complaint. It often appears with for: pay through the nose for something. It is common when talking about tickets, repairs, rent, last-minute travel and anything bought in a hurry. A close relative is cost an arm and a leg. It has nothing to do with noses in a literal way.
Examples
- We booked late and had to pay through the nose for the last two hotel rooms in town.
- Leo didn't want to pay through the nose for a new phone, so he bought a used one.
- Fans are paying through the nose for tickets to the final game.
Where it comes from
No one knows for sure. A popular story describes a cruel nose tax in Viking-era Ireland, but there is no good evidence for it. Another idea links it to rhino, old British slang for money, since rhinoceros comes from the Greek word for nose. The phrase was in use by the 1600s.
Check yourself
1. If you pay through the nose for a concert ticket, what happened?
Answer: You paid far too much. Pay through the nose means pay an unfairly high price.
2. Which statement about the origin is true?
Answer: No one knows for sure where it comes from. The nose tax story is popular but has no good evidence, so the origin is uncertain.
Similar idioms
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