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Synonyms

lead by the nose

Idioms  

  1. Dominate or control someone, as in “The Moor ... will tenderly be led by the nose as asses are” (Shakespeare, Othello, 1:3). This expression alludes to an animal being led by a ring passed through its nostrils. [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I saw the Duke of Bedford coming out of Charles's yesterday, so there is another Duke for him to lead by the nose.

From George Selwyn: His Letters and His Life by Roscoe, E. S.

He hates me, just as he hates any man whom he cannot lead by the nose, and he will move like the old fox he is.

From The Land of Frozen Suns by Sinclair, Bertrand W.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.