bleeding of the nose
Preserved but no longer current.
According to some, a sign that one is in love. Grose says if it bleeds one drop only it forebodes sickness, if three drops the omen is still worse; but Metton, m his Astrologaster, says, "If a man's nose bleeds one drop at the left nostril it is a sign of good luck, and. vice versa.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bleeding of the nose” mean?
According to some, a sign that one is in love. Grose says if it bleeds one drop only it forebodes sickness, if three drops the omen is still worse; but Metton, m his Astrologaster, says, "If a man's nose bleeds one drop at the left nostril it is a sign of good luck, and. vice versa.
Is “bleeding of the nose” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.