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nose out of joint

Cultural  
  1. To be in a bad mood: “Ever since Bill got that traffic ticket, he's had his nose out of joint.”


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.

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A face-off between the two newspapers "put Mirror owner Robert Maxwell's nose out of joint", according to sticker expert and author Greg Lansdowne.

From BBC Nov. 16, 2021

Mr. Brody had insisted on performing his own stunts, Mr. Leguizamo recalled, and for his trouble got a clout in the face that literally and permanently put his nose out of joint.

From New York Times Aug. 21, 2015

But he shouldn’t get his nose out of joint.

From Washington Post Jun. 27, 2012

Colorado's Senator Costigan threatened that august tribunal with a Constitutional amendment which would put its nose out of joint.

From Time Magazine Archive

Or that the ack-ack-ack of the German machine gun is really just a woodpecker getting his nose out of joint.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

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