[nor] See: NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL, NEITHER HERE NOR THERE, NEITHER HIDE NOR HAIR.
[no sale] See: NO DEAL.
[nose] See: COUNT HEADS or COUNT NOSES, CUT OFF ONE’S NOSE TO SPITE ONE’S FACE, FOLLOW ONE’S NOSE, GO INTO A TAIL SPIN or GO INTO A NOSE DIVE, HARD-NOSED, KEEP ONE’S NOSE CLEAN, KEEP ONE’S NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE, LEAD BY THE NOSE, LOOK DOWN ONE’S NOSE AT, ON THE NOSE, PAY THROUGH THE NOSE, PUT ONE’S NOSE OUT OF JOINT, SEE BEYOND ONE’S NOSE, SKIN OFF ONE’S NOSE, THUMB ONE’S NOSE, TURN UP ONE’S NOSE AT, UNDER ONE’S NOSE.
[nose about] or [nose around] {v. phr.}, {informal} To look for something kept private or secret; poke about; explore; inquire; pry. •/In Grandmother’s attic, Sally spent a while nosing about in the old family pictures./ •/The detective was nosing around in the crowd looking for pickpockets./
[nose down]{v.}, {of an aircraft} To head down; bring down the nose of. •/The big airliner began to nose down for a landing./ •/The pilot nosed the plane down toward the runway./
[nose in(1)] or [nose into(1)] {informal} Prying or pestering interest in; unwelcome interest in; impolite curiosity. •/He always had his nose in other people’s business./ Contrast: NOSE OUT OF.
[nose in(2)] or [nose into(2)] {v.} To move in close; move slowly in with the front first. •/The ship nosed into the pier./ •/The car nosed into the curb./
[nose in a book]{n. phr.} Busy interest in reading. — Used with a possessive. •/Mother can’t get Mary to help do the housework; she always has her nose in a book./
[nose is out of joint] See: PUT ONE’S NOSE OUT OF JOINT.
[nose out]{v.}, {informal} 1. To learn by effort (something private or secret); uncover. •/The principal nosed out the truth about the stolen examination./ 2. To defeat by a nose length; come in a little ahead of in a race or contest. •/The horse we liked nosed out the second horse in a very close finish./ •/The Democratic candidate nosed out his rival for Congress by a few hundred votes./
[nose out of]{informal} Curious attention; bothering. — Usually used with a possessive and usually used with "keep". •/When Billy asked his sister where she was going she told him to keep his nose out of her business./ Contrast: NOSE IN.
[nose over]{v.} To turn over on the nose so as to land upside down. •/The airplane made a faulty landing approach and nosed over./
[nose up]{v.} To head up; incline the forward end upwards; move up. •/The airplane nosed up through the cloud bank./ •/The pilot nosed the plane up from the field./
[no-show]{n.}, {informal} A person who makes a reservation, e.g., at a hotel or at an airline, and then neither claims nor cancels it. •/The airlines were messed up because of a great number of no-show passengers. /
[no sooner --- than] As soon as; at once when; immediately when. •/No sooner did he signal to turn than the other car turned in front of him./ •/No sooner were the picnic baskets unpacked than it began to rain./
[no spring chicken]{n. phr.} A person who is no longer young. •/Even though she is no spring chicken anymore, men still turn their heads to look at her./
[no sweat(1)]{adj.}, {slang}, {informal} Easily accomplished, uncomplicated. •/That job was no sweat./
[no sweat(2)]{adv.} Easily. •/We did it no sweat./
[not a few] See: QUITE A FEW.
[not a leg to stand on]{n. phr.}, {informal} No good proof or excuse; no good evidence or defense to offer. •/The man with a gun and $300 in his pocket was accused of robbing an oil station. He did not have a leg to stand on./
[not a little] See: QUITE A LITTLE.
[not all there]{adj. phr.} Not completely alert mentally; absentminded; not together. •/Bill is a wonderful guy but he is just not all there./
[not at all] See: AT ALL.
[not bad] or [not so bad] or [not half bad] {adj.}, {informal} Pretty good; all right; good enough. •/The party last night was not bad./ •/It was not so bad, as inexpensive vacations go./ •/The show was not half bad./
[not by a long shot] See: BY A LONG SHOT.
[not by any means] See: BY NO MEANS.
[notch] See: TIGHTEN ONE’S BELT.
[note] See: COMPARE NOTES, TAKE NOTE OF.
[not for all the coffee in Brazil] or [not for all the tea in China] or [not for anything in the world ] or [not for love or money] See: NOT FOR THE WORLD.
[not for the world] or [not for worlds] {adv. phr.} Not at any price; not for anything. •/I wouldn’t hurt his feelings for the world./ •/Not for worlds would he let his children go hungry./
[not half bad] See: NOT BAD.
[not have anything on] See: HAVE NOTHING ON.
[not have the heart to]{v. phr.} To not be insensitive or cruel. •/My boss did not have the heart to lay off two pregnant women when they most needed their jobs./
[nothing] See: GO FOR NOTHING, HAVE NOTHING ON, HERE GOES NOTHING, IN NO TIME or IN NOTHING FLAT, NOT TO MENTION or TO SAY NOTHING OF.
[nothing doing]{adv. phr.}, {informal} I will not do it; certainly not; no indeed; no. •/"Will you lend me a dollar?" "Nothing doing!"/ •/"Let’s go for a boat ride!" "Nothing doing!"/ Compare: NO DEAL.
[nothing if not]{adv. phr.} Without doubt; certainly. •/With its bright furnishings, flowers, and sunny windows, the new hospital dayroom is nothing if not cheerful./
[nothing like] See: ANYTHING LIKE.
[nothing of the kind]{adv. phr.} On the contrary. •/"Did you quit your job?" he asked. "No, I did nothing of the kind," she answered./
[nothing short of]{adv. phr.} Absolutely; thoroughly; completely. •/Olivier’s performance in Hamlet was nothing short of magnificent./
[nothing succeeds like success] Success in one thing makes success in other things easier; people like a successful person. — A proverb. •/The girls all like Bob because he is football captain. Nothing succeeds like success./
[nothing to it]{adj. phr.} Presenting no serious challenge; easily accomplished. •/Once you learn how to tread water, swimming is really easy; there is nothing to it./ Compare: EASY AS APPLE PIE, A CINCH, A PIECE OF CAKE.
[nothing to sneeze at] See: SNEEZE AT.
[notice] See: SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE, TAKE NOTE OF or TAKE NOTICE OF.
[not in the least]{adv. phr.} Not at all. •/She was not in the least interested in listening to a long lecture on ethics./
[notion] See: HALF A MIND also HALF A NOTION, TAKE INTO ONE’S HEAD or TAKE A NOTION.
[not know which way to turn] or [not know which way to jump] {v. phr} To be puzzled about getting out of a difficulty; not know what to do to get out of trouble. •/When Jane missed the last bus home, she didn’t know which way to turn./ •/After Mr. Brown died, Mrs. Brown had no money to pay the bills. When the landlord told her to pay the rent or move out, she didn’t know which way to jump./
[not let any grass grow under one’s feet] See: LET GRASS GROW UNDER ONE’S FEET.
[not one’s cup of tea] See: CUP OF TEA.
[not one’s scene] See: CUP OF TEA.
[not on your life]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Certainly not; not ever; not for any reason. — Used for emphasis. •/I wouldn’t drive a car with brakes like that — not on your life./ •/Did he thank me for my advice? Not on your life./
[not see beyond one’s nose] See: SEE BEYOND ONE’S NOSE.
[not so bad] See: NOT BAD.
[not so hot] or [not too hot] {adj. phr.} Ineffective; not very good. •/His plans to rebuild the house in a hurry obviously weren’t so hot./
[not the only fish in the sea]{n. phr.} One of many; not the only one of the kind; not the only one available. •/He said he could find other girls — she was not the only fish in the sea./ Compare: NOT THE ONLY PEBBLE ON THE BEACH.
[not the only pebble on the beach]{n. phr.} Not the only person to be considered; one of many. •/George was acting pretty self-important and we finally had to tell him that he wasn’t the only pebble on the beach./ Compare: NOT THE ONLY FISH IN THE SEA.
[not the thing]{n. phr.} Not the accepted form of action; something socially improper. •/It is simply not the thing to wear blue jeans to the opera./
[not to get to first base]{v. phr.} To fail to make initial progress; have no success at all. •/I tried various ways to make Mary interested in me as a potential husband, but I couldn 't even get to first base./
[not to give one the time of day]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {informal} To dislike someone strongly enough so as to totally ignore him. •/Sue wouldn’t give Helen the time of day./
[not to give quarter]{v. phr.} 1. To be utterly unwilling to show mercy; not to allow a weaker or defeated party the chance to save themselves through escape. •/The occupying foreign army gave no quarter — they took no prisoners, shot everyone, and made escape impossible./ 2. To argue so forcefully during a negotiation or in a court of law as to make any counter-argument or counter-proposal impossible. •/The District Attorney hammered away at the witnesses and gave no quarter to the attorney for the defense./
[not to know one from Adam]{v. phr.} To not know a person; be unable to recognize someone. •/I have no idea who that guy is that Jane just walked in with; I don’t know him from Adam./
[not to know the first thing about]{v. phr.} To be totally ignorant about a certain issue. •/Al assured us that he didn’t know the first thing about Mary’s whereabouts./
[not to know what to make of]{v. phr.} To be unable to decipher; be unable to identify; not know how to decide what something really is. •/I got a mysterious letter asking me to meet Santa Claus at 6 P.M. at the supermarket. Is this a joke? I don’t know what to make of it./
[not to know whether one is coming or going]{v. phr.} To be completely confused. •/He was so perplexed he didn’t know whether he was coming or going./ Compare: AT SEA(2).
[not to lift a finger]{v. phr.} To not help in the slightest degree. •/"My husband won’t lift a finger to help me," she complained, "although we have 12 people coming for dinner."/
[not to mention] or [not to speak of] or [to say nothing of] Without ever needing to speak of; in addition to; besides. — Used to add something to what you have said or explained. •/Dave is handsome and smart not to mention being a good athlete./ •/They have three fine sons, not to speak of their two lovely daughters./ •/Sally takes singing and dancing lessons to say nothing of swimming and tennis lessons./ Compare: LET ALONE, TO SPEAK OF.
[not to speak of] See: NOT TO MENTION.
[not to touch (something) with a ten-foot pole]{v. phr.} To consider something completely undesirable or uninteresting. •/Some people won’t touch spinach with a ten-foot pole./ •/Kids who wouldn’t touch an encyclopedia with a ten-foot pole love to find information with this computer program./
[not worth a dime] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.
[not worth a hill of beans] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.
[not worth a red cent] See: NOT WORTH A TINKER’S DAMN.
[not worth a tinker’s damn] or not [worth a tinker’s dam] {adj. phr.}, {informal} Not worth anything; valueless. •/As a bricklayer he was not worth a tinker’s damn./ •/I am not familiar with the subject so my opinion would not be worth a tinker’s dam./
[no two ways about it]{n. phr.} No other choice; no alternative. •/The boss said there were no two ways about it; we would all have to work late to finish the job./
