pay through the nose

短语

被勒索

发音

UK /ˌpeɪ θɹuː ðə ˈnəʊz/
CA /ˌpeɪ θɹu ðə ˈnoʊz/
US /ˌpeɪ θɹu ðə ˈnoʊz/
AU /ˌpæɪ θɹʉː ðə ˈnəʉz/
NZ /ˌpæɪ θɹʉː ðə ˈnɐʉz/

词形变化

paid through the nose paying through the nose pays through the nose 三单 pays through the nose paying through the nose 现在分词 paid through the nose 过去式 paid through the nose 过去分词

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To pay an exorbitant or excessive amount, either in money or in some other manner.

    被敲竹杠

    予人𫼱盼仔

    习语

词源

Origin uncertain; according to the American etymologist and linguist Anatoly Liberman (born 1937), probably a nautical term drawing an analogy between paying a large sum of money and paying out an anchor’s cable or chain through the hawseholes at the bow (metaphorically the “nose”) of a ship. He is unconvinced of other explanations such as the following: * The term is said to derive from the story of the Norse god Odin levying a tax on the nose of every Swede. However, Liberman is of the view that it is unclear why a god would require money. * Alternatively, the term is said to be from Old Norse nef-gildi (“poll tax payable to the king”, literally “nose-tax”), nose being a synecdoche referring to a person, because the Irish were required to pay such a tax to the Vikings who conquered them (795–1169 C.E.). Liberman points out that the English term is only attested centuries after this period.

来源：wiktionary