| 词源 |
on the nose. To win by a nose is an old horse racing expres- sion, but on the nose, “exactly on time, perfectly correct, right on the button,” originated in the early days of radio. Directors in their soundproof control rooms signaled their assistants on stage that the various segments of a program were running ex- actly on time by touching their forefingers alongside their nos- es. If portions of the program were running behind schedule, the director would relay other signs, and whole pages of a script might have to be cut out. The signal to cut something entirely, for example, was to saw violently at the throat with one hand. When everything was really copacetic, the director held up his thumb and forefinger pressed tightly together. |