To be charged an enormous price. The origin of this expression has been lost. One writer suggests it may come from the Danish nose tax, imposed in Ireland in the ninth century and so called because delinquent taxpayers were punished by having their noses slit. Another believes it may be connected with the old British slang word rhino, for money or cash. In any event, the term has been used for exorbitant payments since the seventeenth century.