- English translation
"Woman, why is your nose running?" "It's the winter cold." "Really? I saw you back in the summer, too."
- Literal wording
He said: O woman, what is with your nostrils dripping? She said: From the winter. He said: I know you in the summer.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying exposes an excuse that blames a lasting fault on a temporary circumstance. The woman says the cold weather is making her nose run. The man answers that he saw her in summer as well, implying her nose ran then too, so the condition has nothing to do with the season.
More broadly, it calls out anyone who presents a long-standing weakness as a recent accident or a product of passing conditions. The speaker signals that the listener's history is known, so the convenient explanation fails. Shifting the blame onto the moment does not hide a defect that was always there.
- When it is used
Use it as a dry retort when someone blames a familiar flaw or habit on a recent or passing cause, though the listener knows the problem existed long before. It suits teasing more than formal settings and can sound mocking; aimed at a genuine excuse, it may imply dishonesty.
- Register
- Colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: "Woman, why is your nose running?" "It's the winter cold." "Really? I saw you back in the summer, too."