RussianЗарубить на носу (Zarubit' na nosu)
Meaning: To remember something firmly, once and for all.
Literally: To notch it on your nose
Example: “Заруби себе на носу: поезд не ждёт.” — Mark my words: the train won't wait.
English equivalent: Mark my words
Equivalents in other languages
Dutch: iets in je oren knopen Literally: To knot something into your ears
English: mark my words
Origin: Russian Wiktionary and a Russian phrase handbook explain that нос here was not the face but a tally: a small wooden tag people carried with them and notched to keep count of work done or debts owed. Cutting a mark on it made a record that would not be lost. The phrase began as a joking threat, "notch it on your nose," and now means to remember for good. Russian Wiktionary presents the tally as the probable explanation, not a certain one; the same нос is said to lie behind остаться с носом.
More Russian idioms
- Водить за нос (Vodit' za nos) To deceive or string someone along.
- Бить баклуши (Bit' baklushi) To loaf about doing nothing.
- Остаться с носом (Ostat'sya s nosom) To be left empty-handed or outwitted.
- Как сельдь в бочке (Kak sel'd' v bochke) Packed together very tightly.
- Делать ноги (Delat' nogi) To run away quickly.
- Заговаривать зубы (Zagovarivat' zuby) To distract someone with smooth, evasive talk.
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- У тебя золотые руки (u tebya zolotye ruki) You're extraordinarily skilled — able to make or fix anything with your hands.
- Золотые руки (Zolotye ruki) You're wonderfully skilled with your hands — a true master at making and fixing things.
- Без царя в голове (Bez tsarya v golove) Foolish and reckless — with no one in charge upstairs.
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