"Made someone pay through the nose" is an idiomatic expression that means someone paid an exorbitant amount for something. The spelling for this phrase is as follows: /meɪd sʌmwʌn peɪ θruː ðə nəʊz/. The emphasis is on the first syllable of "someone" and the second syllable of "through". The "th" sound in "through" is pronounced as a voiced dental fricative while the "s" sound in "nose" is unvoiced. The phrase originated in Ireland, where people were literally forced to pay fines through their noses during the Viking era.
The phrase "made someone pay through the nose" is an idiomatic expression that means to force someone to pay an excessive amount of money for a particular product, service, or situation. It often denotes a sense of being overcharged or exploited financially.
Originating from Old Norse folklore, the expression alludes to a medieval practice where the Vikings would require their victims or hostages to make payments through their nasal passages, using a sharp object to extract the money. While this macabre practice may not be historically accurate, the phrase itself has evolved over time to mean a figurative monetary extraction.
When someone is said to have made another person "pay through the nose," it implies a situation where the payer has been taken advantage of or swindled by the recipient, demanding an exorbitant or unfair amount for something. This phrase suggests a feeling of being cheated, as if one's nose is being used as a conduit to drain their financial resources.
The figurative nature of the phrase emphasizes the idea of an extreme and unpleasant financial burden placed upon an individual. It conveys an image of someone facing an unjust fate of being forced to pay dearly for something, while also highlighting the exploitative nature of the transaction.
In contemporary usage, "made someone pay through the nose" is commonplace in informal conversation and literature to describe instances where excessive monetary demands have been imposed, evoking a sense of unfairness and financial duress.