copper nose
- noun
- /ˈkɑːpər noʊz/
:
nariz de cobre
- The doctor explained that a copper nose can result from broken blood vessels in the skin.
Examples
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His copper nose was a telltale sign of years of heavy drinking.
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Portraits from the era sometimes depicted men with a noticeable copper nose.
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His copper nose was a clear sign of his drinking habits.
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Many people noticed her copper nose after the party.
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His copper nose was a telltale sign of years of heavy drinking.
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The doctor explained that a copper nose can result from broken blood vessels in the skin.
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Many people noticed her copper nose after the party.
Synonyms
A large red nose with visible small blood vessels often caused by heavy drinking
A red, swollen nose with small red veins, often linked to heavy drinking
A red, swollen nose with small veins you can see after long heavy drinking
A nose that becomes large and red with visible veins from long heavy drinking
An enlarged red nose with visible blood vessels that often comes from heavy drinking
A large red round nose with small red lines from blood vessels
Surface Forms
Morphology
The basic descriptive sense — a nose that is coppery or reddish — follows directly from combining 'copper' (a reddish metal/color) with 'nose', so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the surface colour/appearance. However, the conventional association with enlarged vessels and excessive alcohol consumption is a cultural/pragmatic extension not fully predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Copper nose may come from comparing a red, swollen nose to the warm, reddish metal copper. Old pictures and doctors often saw this red, swollen look on people with 'heavy drinking', so the name came to mean a nose changed by alcohol.
