phrase🎓 English idiom

right under your nose

right in front of you but unnoticed

What it means

Very close to you and easy to see, yet somehow not noticed. It is used when something obvious was overlooked even though it was right in front of you the whole time.

Examples

  • I searched everywhere for my glasses, and they were right under my nose.
  • The thief was an employee operating right under their noses.
  • The answer was right under our noses all along.
  • She found the missing file right under her nose on the desk.

Where it comes from

The expression has been used since at least the 17th century and plays on the idea that the nose is directly in one's line of sight. Despite being so near, things 'under the nose' are easily missed.

Related idioms

#the elephant in the room#out of the blue#read between the lines#miss the point

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