follow one's nose, to
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.
See also: follow, nose
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
follow one's nose
Go straight ahead, as in To get to the restaurant, just follow your nose down Baker Avenue. [Late 1600s]
See also: follow, nose
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
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.
See also: follow, nose
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
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.
See also: follow
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- dead ahead
- be ahead of the game
- go ahead with (something)
- get ahead
- see ahead
- remain ahead of (someone or something)
- walk ahead (of someone or something)
- walk ahead of
- lie ahead of
- lie ahead of (someone or something)