under someone's nose
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Happening or done openly and obviously, often in a way that is surprising or annoying.
Literally: under a person's nose
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The thief stole the wallet right under the police officer's nose.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “under someone's nose” mean?
Happening or done openly and obviously, often in a way that is surprising or annoying. Literally: under a person's nose
Is “under someone's nose” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“qua mắt” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.