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nose out
verb
to discover by smelling
to discover by cunning or persistence
the reporter managed to nose out a few facts
informalto beat by a narrow margin
he was nosed out of first place by the champion
Idioms and Phrases
Defeat by a narrow margin, as in She barely nosed out the incumbent . This expression, alluding to a horse's winning with its nose in front, has been used figuratively since the mid-1900s.
Discover, especially something hidden or secret, as in This reporter has a knack for nosing out the truth . This usage alludes to following the scent of something. [Early 1600s]
Example Sentences
The party has soared during his tenure, but it is also true that the now former chairman put rather a lot of noses out of joint within Reform.
Mr Miller calls this a technology that is “only starting to poke its nose out behind the door” within different segments of the publishing industry.
“I will raise my children the way I want. They’re our children and it’s our choice. He needs to stick his nose out of our business.”
“I think he should keep his nose out of Michigan politics.”
“I had to punch a moose in the nose out there,” he told a camera crew, but didn’t offer other details.
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