poke (one's) nose in(to) (something)
(redirected from poke her nose in something)poke (one's) nose in(to) (something)
To involve or insert oneself in an intrusive or nosy manner into something that is not one's business or responsibility. I wish our neighbors would quit poking their noses in and just leave us alone! Don't poke your nose into your brother's affairs—he can manage well enough on his own.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
poke one's nose in (to something)
and stick one's nose in (to something)Fig. to interfere with something; to be nosy about something. I wish you'd stop poking your nose into my business. She was too upset for me to stick my nose in and ask what was wrong.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
poke one's nose into
Pry into or meddle in another's affairs, as in I told her to stop poking her nose into our business. This usage replaced the earlier thrust one's nose into in the mid-1800s.
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.
poke your nose into something
orstick your nose into something
INFORMALCOMMON If someone pokes their nose into something or sticks their nose into it, they interfere in something that does not concern them. He has no right to go poking his nose into my affairs. I felt that they were sticking their noses into what was only my business. Compare with keep your nose out of something.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
poke your nose into
take an intrusive interest in; pry into. informalFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
poke/stick your nose in/into something
(informal) interfere in the affairs or business of other people: She’s always sticking her nose into other people’s affairs. It’s really annoying. ♢ What happens in this department does not concern him. Why does he have to poke his nose into everything all the time?Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
poke one's nose into, to
To interfere, to meddle. This term began as thrust one’s nose into someone’s affairs, back in the sixteenth century. The analogy presumably is to a dog or other animal nosing about. Samuel Johnson used it in his Dictionary under “Nose” (1755): “To thrust one’s Nose into the affairs of others, to be meddling with other people’s matters.” In America at some point poke was substituted.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer