Please help!!

[tonnyvan]

What does HAVE A BIG NOSE mean?

[twostep]

According to folk lore a man's nose is in proportion with his resproductive organ.

[hobbes]

The more common reference to 'Having a big nose' here in the UK is "to be nosey", to be annoyingly inquisitive and wish to know about something which does not affect or concern you. To wish to know about something which others feel you have no right.

There are a few nose related sayings:

"keep you nose out of it",(do not get involved) "keep you nose clean" (staying out of trouble)

Scenario:

A person asks what's in a closed box, and getting no direct answer decides to try to shake it to determine the contents, then tries to peek inside a small gap.

They are told "you've got a big nose".

VERY nosey.

[asesh]

'Nose' is a smelling organ. 'To have a big nose' means extra inquisitive. Absolutely right.
'Running nose' is having cold (something to do with nose). 'Having a parrot nose' is more to do with nose appearing like parrot.
Speaking through the nose: Nasal accent. (Again about nose)
Has a good nose: sense of smell (dogs)
Nose dive: Aeroplane's plunge from front.
Others like:
As plain as the nose in your face: easily seen.
Cutting off one's nose: Humiliation.
Making a long nose: person not in agreement
Pay through the nose: Overcharged in price
right under one's nose: right in front of

So nose is a vital organ of us. Like blind, deaf, dumb, one who is incapable of smelling anything is called ......
Please help.
Asesh

[Tdol]

'Cutting off your nose to spite your face' isn't about humiliation, IMO- it's more about pride.

[hobbes]

I agree with TDOL, if you 'cut off your nose to spite your face' it's more of a pride issue - not in a good way either.

eg.

If you imagine it.... cutting off your own nose because you have had a dissagreement with your face - nobody wins.
Rather than accept defeat and be humiliated, a proud person will look for maximum damage brought on everybody, even at the cost of damage or loss to themselves.

In ancient Roman times cutting off the nose of a man was a punishment for adultery, this practice was also carried out on WOMEN in India for more than a thousand years. Although not directly related to this idiom - Asesh (from India) had the idea in his post that this punishment carried with it a lot of humiliation.

[Tdol]

I wasn't aware of the practice; I see the where the confusion came from- thanks.

[asesh]

Great. In Indian mythology of Ramayana, there is a mention of Rama cutting of a lady demon's nose and ears. Obviously, to destroy the pride (as expalined).
Nose, as we know, is a vital part of one's face.
Can we have the meaning of the idioms
elephant's nose, cat's eye, crocodile tears, dog's tail and cuckoo's nest.
Asesh

[hobbes]

Originally Posted by asesh

Can we have the meaning of the idioms
elephant's nose, cat's eye, crocodile tears, dog's tail and cuckoo's nest.
Asesh

I've never heard of 'elephant's nose' as an expression. BUT I had a look and:- "The Dalai Lama has offered some unique advice to leading members of the world media: "Journalists should have a long nose, an elephant's nose, so you can sniff all around, above and below. You should investigate with a sincere motivation. You should investigate everyone, even me!"
'cat's eyes' are the reflective devices in the middle of the road to separate the lanes. More easily seen at night by lamps than painted lines.
'crocodile tears' - is false tears, pretending to be sad or concerned, but really you have no feelings - or even bad ones.
'dog's tail' - never heard that used either. And can find no references.
'cuckoo's nest' - Cuckoo's do not nest. The cuckoo is unique among birds in the way it parasitises other species of birds during the rearing of its young. It lays a single egg in the nest of a bird of another species, most commonly, the hedge sparrow. If as a reference to the famous film, it refers to 'a mad house', 'mental asylum', 'full of unsensible people'.

Asesh - it is often helpful to do an internet Yahoo! or goggle search yourself. Then YOU can have the pleasure in finding and knowing the meanings too.

eg. Type in the SEARCH BAR "cuckoo's nest"+meaning EXACTLY as you see it here including the "quotes".