Englisha nose for something
Meaning: a talent for finding or recognizing something; keen instinct.
Example: “The young reporter has a real nose for a good story.”
Origin: Extends the literal sense of smell into the territory of instinct and judgment, and the bridge is the hunting dog. Scent hounds were bred, valued, and openly praised for their noses, and a dog said to have a good nose was one that could follow a trail no human could detect at all — knowledge arriving through a channel unavailable to the people relying on it. That made the nose a natural figure for the kind of insight that cannot be shown as reasoning: the person with a nose for trouble, for a bargain, or for a story does not deduce it so much as detect it. The figurative use is established in English from the 1600s, and it later produced fixed collocations of its own, particularly "a nose for news," a stock phrase in journalism by the late 1800s.
More English idioms
- throw in the towel to give up; to concede defeat.
- keep your chin up to remain optimistic; to stay courageous during difficulty.
- pitter-patter of little feet the sound of children running; anticipation of having babies.
- be in someone's shoes to understand someone's perspective; to experience their situation.
- the real McCoy the genuine article; something authentic and high quality.
- cry over spilled milk to regret something past; useless to grieve over unchangeable events.
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