pin a rose on your nose
- idiom
- Informal
:
ponte una rosa en la nariz
- “Oh, so you cooked dinner by yourself? Pin a rose on your nose,” she joked.
Examples
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If you finished first again, pin a rose on your nose.
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After winning the game, he was ready to pin a rose on his nose.
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Whenever he boasts about his grades, his sister tells him to pin a rose on your nose.
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You really think you deserve to pin a rose on your nose for that?
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Whenever he brags about his accomplishments, his friends say, 'Pin a rose on your nose!' as a playful jab.
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After she finished her presentation, her colleague sarcastically remarked, 'Pin a rose on your nose for a job well done!'
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When he talks about his success, she rolls her eyes and tells him to 'pin a rose on your nose.'
Surface Forms
Morphology
pin + a + rose + on + your + nose
The sarcastic sense of congratulating or accusing someone of self-congratulation is not transparently derivable from the literal meanings of 'pin', 'rose' and 'nose'; a learner would likely interpret a literal physical action rather than the idiomatic, ironic intent. The expression is culturally specific and metaphorical, so knowing the constituent words at B1 is unlikely to yield the intended meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pin a rose on your nose creates a silly picture: someone proud is given a bright rose pinned to their nose, like a fake prize that makes them look foolish. So this phrase is used to 'congratulate' in a joking way or to say someone is acting too proud.
