English Reference
Idiom idiom

nose out of joint


An emotional state where someone is in a bad mood because they have been offended by or taken exception (objected) to some action, usually involving being seen in an inferior light to another person.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

“He got his nose out of joint because I won the game.”

CONTEXTUAL

“She got her nose out of joint when the boss praised her colleague instead of her for the project.”

COMPLEX

“The senior partner clearly had his nose out of joint after the board ignored his proposal in favor of a younger associate's innovative strategy.”


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    banana nose

    A large, unusually long nose.

  2. 02

    button nose

    A nose with a small size and a relatively flat, round shape, usually considered to be dainty or cute in appearance.

  3. 03

    camel's nose

    A situation where the permitting of some small act will lead to a larger undesirable act or circumstance.

  4. 04

    case the joint

    To thoroughly observe or examine a place, in order to familiarize oneself with its workings in preparation for criminal activity, often robbery.

  5. 05

    count noses

    To count people one at a time.

  6. 06

    cut off one's nose to spite one's face

    To harm oneself as a result of attempting to harm an adversary.

  7. 07

    give someone a bloody nose

    To defeat or frustrate someone, but without doing any permanent damage.

  8. 08

    I suppose

    [Cockney slang]nose

Last updated August 10, 2026