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Rhinotillexis on the Decline

By Maeve

You may be pleased to hear that rhinotillexis is on the downturn, at least in public places.

This lovely term means “picking one’s nose with one’s fingers.” In an article by Jim Shahin in the February 15, 2008 issue of American Way, I learned that a Harvard study reveals that rhinotillexis is down 70% from the year before. The decline is attributed to the fact that cameras are everywhere and people are becoming more cautious about the activity for fear of showing up on YouTube and grossing out their friends.

The element rhino occurs in several English words.

The animal (rhinoceros) gets its name from the combination rhino “nose” and keras “horn.” People hardly ever use the entire word anymore when speaking of the animal. Certainly calling it a rhino makes forming its plural much easier.

A scholarly plural of rhinoceros is rhinocerotes. I’ve never heard anyone say that. A more familiar plural is rhinoceroses, but that’s hard to say and it sounds comical.

A television ad selling a cold product shows a rhinoceros and tells viewers that the source of the common cold is the rhinovirus.

Rhino occurs in other medical terms.

People dissatisfied with the noses they were born with can opt for rhinoplasty, cosmetic surgery that alters the shape of the nose.

Rhinoscopy is a technique for examining the nose and throat.

If you are writing in a humorous vein and wish to describe someone who has a big nose, you could use the adjective rhinocerical.

Something I didn’t know before researching rhino is that it has been used as a slang word for “money” since 1688. Could be that this use of the word has something to do with the origin of the expression “paying through the nose.”

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Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on February 28, 2008 (boomark / email).