pay through the nose

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌpeɪ θɹuː ðə ˈnəʊz/
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• Canada, General-American: /ˌpeɪ θɹu ðə ˈnoʊz/
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• Australian: /ˌpæɪ θɹʉː ðə ˈnəʉz/
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• Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• New-Zealand: /ˌpæɪ θɹʉː ðə ˈnɐʉz/
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• rhymes with -əʊz
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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.

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese: 予人摃盼仔 /予人𫼱盼仔 (hō͘ lâng kòng phàn-á) — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Chinese Mandarin: 被敲竹槓 /被敲竹杠 (bèi qiāozhúkàng) — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Dutch: blauw betalen — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Finnish: maksaa maltaita — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• French: acheter à prix d'or — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• French: débourser une fortune — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• French: payer bonbon — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• French: payer le prix fort — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• French: payer une fortune — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• German: tief in die Tasche greifen — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Hungarian: borsos árat fizet — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Icelandic: blæða — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Icelandic: greiða okurverð — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Icelandic: punga út — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Latvian: maksāt baltu naudu — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Latvian: maksāt traku naudu — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Polish: przepłacać — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Polish: przepłacić — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount
• Portuguese: pagar os olhos da cara — to pay an exorbitant or excessive amount