Nod:
If a resolution passes on the nod it passes without much difficulty.
The saying is also used in the sense of gaining monetary credit. One
suggestion for the origin comes from the House of Commons where it was
possible to nod one's vote.
An alternative derives from the auction houses where a bid can be given
on the nod. This latter explanation best fits the saying when used in
its sense of obtaining credit for something but doesn't really fit with
the more common use.
Nose: On the nose is an expression signifying exactness; precise
timing. It comes from radio broadcasting in the USA where the producer
would signal to the performers that they were "on air" by touching his
nose.
To
pay through the nose is to pay an exorbitant price for something. I
have found a couple of possible origins, one of which I reckon to be a
little "anaemic"; it goes as follows. As early as the 17th century
"rhino" was slang for money; "Rhinos" is Greek for "nose". Noses bleed
and someone who pays over the odds can also be said to bleed.
The other explanation goes back to the days of the Danish invasion of
Britain. 9th century Danes were particularly strict with their tax
laws, especially where "foreigners" were concerned. They levied a
particular tax against the Irish called the "Nose Tax"; failure to pay
was met by harsh punishment - the debtor had his nose slit open.
The expression only seems to have come into English at the end of the
17th century and so the "anaemic" version is the most likely to be
correct.
It's
no skin off my nose is used to express indifference to the outcome of
an argument or event. According to the "Random House
Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y.
Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996) the saying originated in the
early twentieth century and is of boxing origin. The pronoun 'my' may
be replaced with another pronoun or noun. 'Nose' is often replaced by
'behind' or 'a**.'."
Although this gives the source, it's still difficult to relate to the
lack of concern expressed in the phrase. In June 2005 Kanushka
suggested that perhaps could "have been used by a third party when
asked by parties one and two whether or not they should fight over an
argument or not? The third party could have replied "it's no skin off
my nose" (as in "I don't care either way"), because even if the two
other parties eventually do decide to fight, they will perhaps damage
each other's faces/noses, but the third party will remain unscathed no
matter what the outcome of their decision."
Notch: To be Top notch is to be the best at something. I can find no
certain origin, but it is not difficult to imagine results of
endeavours being recorded by notches on a stick or rod - like a Tally
stick - or heights of children being marked on a door post.
An extensive Internet search in February 2002 failed to find a
definitive origin. The 'Word Detective' site did offer the following:
"....... theories about the source of "top notch," which since about
1848 has meant "first rate" or simply "the best." Unfortunately, none
of the theories you propose matches what we do know about the source of
"top notch" (which isn't, however, very much). Evidently, the term "top
notch" originated in some sort of game or competition where the score
was kept by moving markers upward on a notched board or stick. The
winner, presumably would be the one whose marker reached the top notch
first, making "top notch" a fitting metaphor for "the best." Ordinarily
I'd apologize for the vagueness of that explanation, but it's the best
anyone can do today, and the fault really lies with the slackers back
in 1848 who neglected to write down precisely what game they were
playing".
Nutshell: In a nutshell is an expression used to convey that a
situation has been summed up very precisely and correctly in few words
- "you've got it in a nutshell". Nutshell seems an odd unit by which to
measure this degree of exactitude. The origin can be found in Brewer's
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Here it describes that Pliny (vii, 21)
tells us that Cicero (Apud Gellium, ix, 421) asserts that the whole
Iliad was written in such a small hand on a single piece of parchment
that it could be put into a walnut shell. Brewer quotes other examples
of extremely small writing, such as the Bible produced by Peter Bales
in 1590 that could be enclosed within a walnut shell. The analogy is
thus clear.
