pay through the nose
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To pay unreasonably high prices: “If you visit any major city these days, you had better be prepared to pay through the nose for a hotel room.”
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QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
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Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Words nearby pay through the nose
Pays de la Loire, pay stub, payt., pay television, pay the piper, pay through the nose, Payton, pay-to-play, pay up, paywall, pay your money and take your choice
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Example sentences from the Web for pay through the nose
Idioms and Phrases with pay through the nose
pay through the nose
Pay an excessive amount for something, as in We paid through the nose for that vacation. The origin of this term has been lost. Possibly it alludes to the Danish nose tax, imposed in Ireland in the 9th century, whereby delinquent taxpayers were punished by having their noses slit. [Second half of 1600s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.