Meanings&Examples:
1. To walk straight ahead (thus walking in the direction that one's nose is
facing).
- A: "Should I turn here?" B: "No, follow your nose and keep walking in a
straight line-you'll be at my house soon enough."
- I can't follow my nose, there's a wall directly in front of me!
- Once you get to the top of the steps, follow your nose, and you'll end up
in the bathroom.
2. To follow a scent, in an attempt to find its source.
- I thought I smelled something baking, so I followed my nose down to the
kitchen and found my mom icing a cake!
- I followed my nose because I smelled coffee. Turns out, Becca was just
burning a coffee-scented candle.
- A: "One of our neighbors is cooking something that smells really good." B:
"I know, I want to follow my nose and join them for dinner!"
3. To trust one's instinct when making a judgment or decision or taking action.
- I tend to follow my nose when I have a bad feeling about someone, and it's
helped me to avoid a lot of drama.
- I'm glad I followed my nose and didn't get involved with those
troublemakers.
- He's a smart guy, he just doesn't have the confidence to follow his
nose-that's how he ends up in these messy situations.
https://www.thefreedictionary.com [edited]
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Tim wanted to know how much water for a cup of rice. It might be that a couple
of days ago, I blurted I'd be happy if he'd cook for me for a change. He had
marinated some Korean beef overnight and declared supper was on him.
"Just cover the rice with about one finger's width of water." Getting no reply,
I went on: "The finger's width is a clever Chinese folk metric that allows for
creativity. No need to dip a finger. A rough guess will do."
Five minutes later, "Is this good?"
I looked into the pot. "That's fine. Just follow your nose. It'll be easy when
you make it enough times."
