IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishturn up one's nose at something or someone
Meaning: To scorn, snub, or reject something.
Example: “The cat turned up its nose at the new food.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Faire la fine bouche Literally: To make the fine mouth- French: Faire fi de quelque chose Literally: To make fie of something
Origin: Ancient, and older than English itself: the gesture of physically lifting the nose to express contempt or disdain is old enough that Ancient Greek already had a specific verb for it, myktērízō, built from myktēr, nostril — to sneer, quite literally, with the nose. The English idiom is first recorded in 1779, but the gesture behind it needed no invention at that point; it's one of the small set of scornful facial expressions that appear to be near-universal, requiring no cultural context to be understood.
More English idioms
- when hell freezes over Never.
- beat the bushes To search exhaustively.
- between the devil and the deep blue sea Facing two difficult outcomes for the same situation.
- down to earth Practical and rational; unpretentious.
- fair-weather friend A person who is loyal in good times but not when times are difficult.
- field day A wild and uncontrolled time; a time of especially pleasant or exciting action.
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