on the nose

1. Exactly, precisely; especially, at the appointed time or estimated amount. For example, The busload of students arrived at the museum at ten o'clock right on the nose, or He guessed the final score on the nose. This term, like on the button, may come from boxing, where the opponent's nose is a highly desired target. [c. 1930]

Example Sentences

So, I grabbed him by his halter and gave that talk and patted him on the nose.

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I’m not the first person to make the point that the music on the series is almost sickeningly on the nose, but this episode took the cake for me.

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"He threw a tea towel over my head and then bit me on the nose," she said.

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Bergman’s production, marred by blasts of jarring folk music between scene transitions, is a little too on the nose.

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A cartoon version of Jenny Schecter come to life, what transpires in her novel is close, if not on the nose, to what takes place around her, buffered by changed names and literary exaggerations.

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