“Under your nose” can describe something in an obvious nearby place and can also emphasize that something happened openly without being noticed or prevented. This guide keeps those current senses separate from origin speculation.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
If something is “under your nose,” it is very close or obvious, often despite being overlooked.
Key details
Canonical Formunder your nose
Core Meaningin an obvious place, or happening openly nearby without being noticed or prevented
Further guidance
Current Meaning
in an obvious place, or happening openly nearby without being noticed or prevented
History Boundary
This guide establishes present-day form and meaning and does not assert an exact inventor, coinage, or first printed use.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
“Caught red-handed” means discovered in the act of doing something wrong or illegal. The expression is stronger than saying someone is merely suspected, because it centers on being found during the wrongdoing.
A “smoking gun” is decisive evidence or information that establishes responsibility or culpability for an act. Use it when the evidence is presented as strongly establishing responsibility; ordinary clues or weak suspicion do not automatically amount to a smoking gun.
“Tip of the Iceberg” means a small visible or known part of something much larger, often a problem. This guide focuses on current documented usage and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
“Keep something under wraps” means to keep it secret or concealed from public knowledge. This guide explains the established current sense without promoting an unsupported origin story.
To keep your cards close to your chest is to keep your plans or intentions secret. The metaphor is transparently connected with concealing a hand of playing cards, but exact dating is uncertain. The reviewed history source explicitly warns that popular 1860s-origin claims lack citations and treats mid-twentieth-century figurative evidence as the safer documentary floor.
“Put Your Cards on the Table” means to be honest and open about your feelings, intentions, or position. This guide focuses on current documented usage and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
“Under the radar” means attracting little notice, attention, or detection. Context determines whether that low visibility is deliberate or simply the result of being overlooked.
The established expression is “wring your hands.” It describes physically clasping or twisting the hands in distress and is also used figuratively for anxious or unproductive worry. “Ring your hands” is not the dictionary-supported form of this idiom.
