Brewer's: Nose Out of Joint

To put one's nose out of joint is to supplant a person in another's good graces. To put another person's nose where yours is now. There is a good French locution, “Lui couper l'herbe sous le picd.” (In Latin, “Aliquem de jure suo dejicere.” Sometimes it means to humiliate a conceited person.

“Fearing now least this wench which is brought over hither should put your nose out the joynt, comining betweene home and you.” —Terence in English (1614).

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language