Don't let them start, or it will be the camel's nose.
camel's nose
idiomA situation where the permitting of some small act will lead to a larger undesirable act or circumstance.
Origin
disputed originThe root phrase is usually claimed to be a saying of Arabs or Middle Eastern cultures, roughly as follows: : Do not allow a camel to put his nose under the edge of your tent, for soon you will have a camel in your tent.
If we allow this small change now, we risk the camel's nose leading to total policy failure later.
The committee feared that approving this minor exception would serve as the camel's nose, inevitably inviting a flood of far more radical and damaging requests.
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banana nose
A large, unusually long nose.
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button nose
A nose with a small size and a relatively flat, round shape, usually considered to be dainty or cute in appearance.
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cut off one's nose to spite one's face
To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.
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give someone a bloody nose
To defeat or frustrate someone, but without doing any permanent damage.
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I suppose
[Cockney slang]nose
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keep one's nose clean
To stay out of trouble, especially by avoiding unlawful behavior.
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lead by the nose
To cause to follow blindly.
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look down one's nose
To regard as inferior or distasteful; to hold in contempt.