[ti:The Answer Is as Clear as the Nose on Your Face] [ar:Faith Lapidus] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:51VOA.COM] [00:00.00](MUSIC) [00:10.14]Now, the VOA Special English program, [00:14.95]Words and Their Stories. [00:18.09]A person's nose is important [00:20.58]for breathing and smelling. [00:22.99]The nose is also used [00:25.50]in many popular expressions. [00:27.91]Some people are able [00:30.59]to lead other people by the nose. [00:33.88]For example, [00:35.22]if a wife leads her husband by the nose, [00:39.02]she makes him do whatever [00:41.31]she wants him to do. [00:43.61]Some people are said to be hard-nosed. [00:46.45]They will not change their opinions [00:49.01]or positions on anything. [00:51.35]If someone is hard-nosed, [00:54.13]chances are he will never [00:57.38]pay through the nose, [00:59.72]or pay too much money, [01:01.92]for an object or service. [01:04.12]It is always helpful [01:06.31]when people keep their nose out of [01:09.06]other people's business. [01:10.65]They do not interfere. [01:13.14]The opposite of this is someone [01:16.04]who noses around all the time. [01:18.83]This kind of person is interested [01:21.81]in other people's private matters. [01:24.41]He is considered nosey. [01:27.59]Someone who keeps his nose [01:30.03]to the grindstone works very hard. [01:33.42]This can help a worker keep his nose clean [01:37.25]or stay out of trouble. [01:39.59]One unusual expression is [01:43.38]that is no skin off my nose. [01:46.33]This means that a situation [01:49.41]does not affect or concern me. [01:52.30]We also say that sometimes a person [01:56.18]cuts off his nose to spite his face. [02:00.12]That is, he makes a situation worse [02:03.50]for himself by doing something foolish [02:06.44]because he is angry. [02:07.90]More problems can develop if a person [02:11.04]looks down his nose at someone or something. [02:15.23]The person acts like something [02:17.92]is unimportant or worthless. [02:20.60]This person might also turn up his nose [02:24.35]at something that he considers not good enough. [02:28.39]This person thinks he is better [02:31.61]than everyone else. [02:34.21]He has his nose in the air. [02:36.90]In school, some students thumb their nose [02:41.58]at their teacher. [02:42.97]They refuse to obey orders or do any work. [02:48.07]Maybe these students do not know the correct answers. [02:54.02]My mother always told me, [02:56.80]if you study hard, [02:58.75]the answers should be right [03:02.04]under your nose or easily seen. [03:06.11]I think we have explained the nose expressions. [03:11.09]What about ears? [03:13.97]Well, I hope you are all ears [03:17.86]or very interested in hearing more expressions. [03:22.34]We might even put a bug in your ear [03:27.18]or give you an idea about something. [03:30.91]We also advise you to keep your ear [03:35.25]to the ground. This means to be interested [03:39.23]in what is happening around you [03:41.52]and what people are thinking. [03:43.86]If you are a good person, [03:46.65]you will lend an ear to your friends. [03:50.48]You will listen to them [03:52.47]when they have a problem they need to talk about. [03:55.81]Our last expression is to play it by ear. [04:01.08]This has two meanings. [04:03.72]One is to play a song on a musical instrument [04:08.65]by remembering the tune and not by reading the music. [04:13.97]Play it by ear also means to decide [04:18.21]what to do at the last minute [04:21.25]instead of making detailed plans. [04:25.03](MUSIC) [04:34.83]This VOA Special English program, [04:39.21]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, [04:41.36]was written by Jill Moss. [04:43.60]I'm Faith Lapidus.