follow (one's) nose
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Related to follow (one's) nose: from head to heels
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follow (one's) nose
1. To walk straight ahead (thus walking in the direction that one's nose is facing). A: "Should I turn here?" B: "No, follow your nose and keep walking in a straight line—you'll be at my house soon enough." I can't follow my nose, there's a wall directly in front of me! Once you get to the top of the steps, follow your nose, and you'll end up in the bathroom.
2. To follow a scent, in an attempt to find its source. I thought I smelled something baking, so I followed my nose down to the kitchen and found my mom icing a cake! I followed my nose because I smelled coffee. Turns out, Becca was just burning a coffee-scented candle. A: "One of our neighbors is cooking something that smells really good." B: "I know, I want to follow my nose and join them for dinner!"
3. To trust one's instinct when making a judgment or decision or taking action. I tend to follow my nose when I have a bad feeling about someone, and it's helped me to avoid a lot of drama. I'm glad I followed my nose and didn't get involved with those troublemakers. He's a smart guy, he just doesn't have the confidence to follow his nose—that's how he ends up in these messy situations.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
follow one's nose
1. Lit. to go straight ahead, the direction that one's nose is pointing. The town that you want is straight ahead on this highway. Just follow your nose. The chief's office is right around the corner. Turn left and follow your nose.
2. Fig. to follow an odor to its source. The kitchen is at the back of the building. Just follow your nose. There was a bad smell in the basement—probably a dead mouse. I followed my nose until I found it.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
follow one's nose
Go straight ahead, as in To get to the restaurant, just follow your nose down Baker Avenue. [Late 1600s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
follow your nose
1. If someone tells you to follow your nose when you are looking for a place, they are telling you to go straight ahead, or to follow the most obvious route. Follow your nose till you come to the church. Turn right there and it's in front of you.
2. If you follow your nose, you make decisions and behave in a particular way because you feel that this is what you should do, rather than because you are following any rules. As far as my career is concerned, I'd started writing for magazines while I was at college and I've just followed my nose doing that ever since.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
follow your nose
1 trust to your instincts. 2 move along guided by your sense of smell. 3 go straight ahead.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
follow your ˈnose
1 be guided by your sense of smell: He followed his nose to the kitchen, and found Marina making tomato soup.
2 go straight forward: The garage is a mile ahead up the hill — just follow your nose.
3 act according to what seems right or reasonable, rather than following any particular rules: In situations like this, I think all we can do is follow our noses.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
follow (one's) nose
1. To move straight ahead or in a direct path.
2. Informal To be guided by instinct: had no formal training but became a success by following his nose.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
follow one's nose, to
To go straight ahead. This expression dates from the fifteenth century or even earlier. “Right forth on thy nose. Recta via encode,” wrote John Stanbridge in a collection of common expressions dated 1510. In the nineteenth century the retort “Follow your nose,” in answer to someone asking directions, was a rather less polite way of saying the same thing.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer