turn up one's nose
/ˌtɜɹn‿ʌp wʌnz ˈnoʊz/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.11 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "When your turn came, you were carefully collared, and led up to the presence, as if even at that awful moment you were mutinously and murderously disposed. The Pasha, looking at you with a vicious sneer, turned up his nose, ejaculated "Ajemi," and prescribed the bastinado."
- "Sir Felix when he read this letter at his club in the afternoon of the Monday, turned up his nose and shook his head. He thought if there were much of that kind of thing to be done, he could not go on with it, even though the marriage was certain, and the money secure. "What an infernal little ass!" he said to himself as he crumpled the letter up."
- "'Not like that!' He shouted. The actors paused, their arms hanging limply by their sides, while Fontan turned up his nose and asked with a sneer: 'What do you mean? What's not like that?'"
- "Some days the mussel boats were in: […] He liked the smell and he remembered to tell Carmel about it, knowing how she would react; she squirmed and turned up her nose and smiled and said that she was glad she was in the hospital and not having to smell the mussels."
- "I tried to help, but they turned up their noses at my advice."
- "We listened in profound silence until the conclusion of this harangue, when Captain Guy replied by assuring the chief of his eternal friendship and goodwill, concluding what he had to say be a present of several strings of blue beads and a knife. At the former the monarch, much to our surprise, turned up his nose with some expression of contempt; but the knife gave him the most unlimited satisfaction, and he immediately ordered dinner."
Etymology
From turn (verb) + up (preposition) + one’s + nose (noun), describing a gesture possibly universally understood as indicating contempt, disgust, or scorn which has existed at least since Ancient Greek times: see Ancient Greek ἐκμυκτηρίζω (ekmuktērízō, “to hold in derision”), from ἐκ- (ek-, prefix expressing completion or totality) and μυκτηρίζω (muktērízō, “to turn up the nose, sneer at”) (from μῠκτήρ (mŭktḗr, “nostril”)).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌtɜɹn‿ʌp wʌnz ˈnoʊz/
- British English: /ˌtɜːn‿ʌp wʌnz ˈnəʊz/