pay through the nose
动词 v.
英 /ˌpeɪ θɹuː ðə ˈnəʊz/
美 /ˌpeɪ θɹu ðə ˈnoʊz/|/ˌpæɪ θɹʉː ðə ˈnəʉz/
英文释义
动词 v.
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To pay an exorbitant or excessive amount, either in money or in some other manner.
— Observe here the happy estate of our Ancestors under Monarchy, who, if they gained but this advantage […] of receiving a few good Grants, and enjoying a pittance of Freedom, once in 4 or 5 ages when their King was too young to play Rex, and there hapned a wise and honest Protector; yet were sure to pay through the nose for it afterwards with double and treble interest for forbearance.
词源
Origin uncertain; according to the American etymologist and linguist Anatoly Liberman (born 1937), probably a nautical term drawing an analogy between paying a large sum of money and paying out an anchor’s cable or chain through the hawseholes at the bow (metaphorically the “nose”) of a ship. He is unconvinced of other explanations such as the following:
* The term is said to derive from the story of the Norse god Odin levying a tax on the nose of every Swede. However, Liberman is of the view that it is unclear why a god would require money.
* Alternatively, the term is said to be from Old Norse nef-gildi (“poll tax payable to the king”, literally “nose-tax”), nose being a synecdoche referring to a person, because the Irish were required to pay such a tax to the Vikings who conquered them (795–1169 C.E.). Liberman points out that the English term is only attested centuries after this period.
* The term is said to derive from the story of the Norse god Odin levying a tax on the nose of every Swede. However, Liberman is of the view that it is unclear why a god would require money.
* Alternatively, the term is said to be from Old Norse nef-gildi (“poll tax payable to the king”, literally “nose-tax”), nose being a synecdoche referring to a person, because the Irish were required to pay such a tax to the Vikings who conquered them (795–1169 C.E.). Liberman points out that the English term is only attested centuries after this period.
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数据来源: Wiktionary