Dictionary

schnozz en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ʃnɒz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ʃnɑz/ (General-American)

Etymology

Likely from Yiddish שנויץ (shnoyts), cognate to German Schnauze (“snout”) and English snout. Compare schnozzle. A less common theory suggests a variant of nose influenced by schm-, or by general association with Yiddish words. Attested since at least 1940.

Meanings

1. (slang) Nose.
   • There's a TV commercial out now for a nasal spray in which a man in need of a decongestant wakes up to find that his entire head has turned into a giant schnozz. 1993 March 5, Adam Langer, “Sex Lives of Superheroes/Subfertile”, in The Chicago Reader:
   • One presumes the anesthetic is for the bull, although if I were about to pound a nail through some bull's schnozz I might want some anesthetic myself. 1998 June 26, Cecil Adams, “The Straight Dope”, in The Chicago Reader:
   • In another talk, a DinoNose collaborator, Scott Sampson of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, pointed out a number of ridges in the ceratopsian schnozz that probably supported curtains of cartilage; these in turn may have served as scaffolding for layers upon layers of mucous membranes. 1999 November 5, Carl Zimmer, “Society of Vertebrate Paleontology: The Stories Behind the Bones”, in Science, volume 286, number 5442, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 1071–1074:
   • “[laughing] Wow, look at all these memories.” [Tallulah chuckles] “The only thing that hasn't changed is the size of your schnoz.” “[laughing] True. I was one big-beaked baby.” 2019 May 3, Nick Adams, “Plumage” (13:20 from the start), in Tuca & Bertie, season 1, episode 5, spoken by Tallulah Toucan (Jenifer Lewis):
   • The best way to describe how the buttermilk bar tastes is by walking into one of their locations and taking a deep breath through your schnozz. 2014 April 18, Samantha Bakall, “Buttermilk bars, anyone? Step right up”, in The Oregonian, Portland, Ore., →ISSN, →OCLC, A&E section, page 17, column 2:
   • […] you have got J-E-W written right across the middle of that face—look at the shnoz on him, for God’s sakes! 1969, Philip Roth, Portnoy’s Complaint, New York: Vintage, published 1994, pages 149–150:

Forms

Synonyms

sneck · schnozzola · snotbox · proboscis · neb · smeller · beezer · snout · honker · snitch · schnoz · sniffer · snoot · nose · beak · schnozzle · schnozz · conk · boko · trunk · pecker · hooter