pay through the nose

Meanings

1. To pay an exorbitant or excessive amount, either in money or in some other manner.

Etymology

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.