Englishget something on the nose
Meaning: To do or understand something perfectly.
Example: “The weather forecaster got it on the nose: rain started at exactly three.”
Origin: "On the nose," meaning exactly right or precisely accurate, has two competing candidate origins, neither conclusively documented. One traces it to boxing, where the nose is a prime, highly visible target — striking "on the nose" is landing a blow squarely rather than glancing off. The other reaches for early-20th-century radio and television broadcasting, where a producer or floor manager signaled that a program was running exactly on schedule by tapping a finger against their own nose, a hand cue visible to performers who couldn't hear a spoken instruction. Both point to the same underlying sense of precision — hitting a target, or hitting a deadline, exactly and without error.
More English idioms
- green thumb Natural ability to grow plants.
- hand in glove Close or intimate.
- hand over fist Extremely quickly.
- hand to mouth To live in poor conditions from day to day; to be impoverished.
- head and shoulders above At a much higher level.
- have one's head in the clouds To be impractical or absent-minded; to be unaware of what is going on around one.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Shinrin-yoku Immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a forest — soaking up its calm through all your s…
- Waldeinsamkeit The serene, faintly mystical feeling of being alone in the woods, at peace with nature.
- Meriggiare To take a quiet midday rest in a cool, shaded spot, escaping the fierce afternoon sun.
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