Talk:on the nose

The previous revision was inconsistent. There's no way that a phrase can mean both "exactly/precisely" (ADVERB) and "smelly/malodorous" (ADJECTIVE). In each case the phrase was being used as a predicate, although the examples obscured that by modifying the phrase with 'right' or 'a bit'. Removing such modifiers retains the grammatical accuracy of the sentence, which shows the prepositional phrase to be a predicate, where "exact", "precise", "smelly", or "malodorous" would substitute, and those are adjectives. It is informative to examine the phrase when used in its literal sense: In the first example, the phase could be replaced by e.g. "accurate"; in the second by e.g. "accurately". --RexxS 09:38, 24 May 2011 (UTC)
 * The punch was on the nose. (adjectival)
 * The punch landed on the nose. (adverbial)

Prepositional phrase
Is it one? Mglovesfun (talk) 22:20, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Tea Room
Please see Tea Room discussion regarding possible distinction between using 'on the nose' to praise accuracy versus using that phrase to chastise lack of imagination.

Jgog2 (talk) 08:09, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

Etymology needed
Etymology needed. 173.88.246.138 17:25, 28 December 2021 (UTC)