Get up someone's nose
Meaning
To deeply irritate or annoy someone, often to the point of anger.
Origin
Imagine the visceral discomfort of an unpleasant smell or an irritating speck of dust invading your nostrils, refusing to leave. This immediate, physical sensation of an inescapable irritant, something that literally 'gets up your nose' and causes a profound, undeniable reaction, forms the vivid metaphor for this phrase. It perfectly captures the persistent, grating annoyance one person can cause another, where the irritation feels not just superficial, but deeply invasive and inescapable, much like an unwelcome scent that clings stubbornly.
Examples
- His constant humming during the meeting really got up my nose, making it hard to concentrate.
- The manager's tendency to micromanage every small task was starting to get up everyone's nose in the department.