poke one's nose into


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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.
See also: nose, poke
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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.
See also: nose, poke
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 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.
See also: nose, poke, to
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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