As I Say, it's No Skin off My Nose

I was reading the Book of Job today and I came across Job 19:20. "My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth." (NASB) I started wondering, what does this expression mean? It obviously originated in Job, since it is such an old book. So I decided to look it up. The Phrase Finder says

"The source of the phrase "by the skin of one's teeth" is indeed the Book of Job, although the precise phrase Job used was "My bone cleaveth to my skin, and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth" (not "by"). Just what the "skin" of one's teeth might be is a bit unclear, but it probably refers to the thin porcelain exterior of the tooth, not the gums. Job evidently kept his teeth, but just barely. It is also possible that he was saying that the margin of his escape was as narrow as the "skin" of a tooth is shallow -- the equivalent of a "hair's breadth." In any case, Job clearly meant that he'd had a very hard time of it, and the phrase has been used ever since to mean a very narrow or arduous escape."

A pretty obvious interpretation. But it reminded me of another idiom--skin of my nose. The oldest an most well-known occurrence of this phrase to me was It's a Wonderful Life. I wondered if it originated from this movie--it certainly was preserved by this movie, along with other 30s-40s phrases like "See you in the Funny Papers" and "Hee Haw". But I decided to do a little research here as well. A seemingly well-researched site says this--
The other day I chanced to overhear a snippet of conversation while standing in line to have my linens starched. Two elderly women were discussing some aspect of their work, and one said to the other, "Well, if he wants to pay that much for a typewriter with no vowels, let him! After all, it's no skin off your nose."

I thought to myself, "What a quaintly curious expression!" Naturally I had heard the phrase "no skin off my nose" before, but, like most people I suppose, had never really given much thought to the origin of such an odd idiom. As the next day happened to be a religious holiday for me (The Feast of the Sacred Topological Enigma) and therefore not a work day, I decided to spend a few quiet hours in the library exploring the etymology of "no skin off my nose".

To my surprise, this simple expression has a long and interesting history, and is closely tied to the terms "nosy", "sticking his nose where it doesn't belong", and even "keeping his nose clean".

In sixteenth century England a clandestine group of cabbage worshipers inhabited London's seamier neighborhoods, practicing a variety of bizarre rituals involving cabbage—including coleslaw, sauerkraut, and the newly invented Reuben sandwich, which had been banned by the government as being subversive ever since the visiting Count Halitosis had disgraced himself by splattering corned beef on the tablecloth at a state banquet.

With informers everywhere, it became common among the cabbage cult to cut a very small hole in the doors of the places of worship, so that the high priest could peer through and verify the identity of those wishing to enter. However, electric lights being unknown, it was difficult to make out the faces of people standing outside in the dark, so another method was devised.

Followers who desired entrance to the service were to make a small mark, like a birthmark, on the left side of their nose, and then thrust their proboscis through the hole in the door. If the mark was missing, the priest would know that the nose did not belong to a true believer, and he would take a sharp paring knife and slice a long strip of skin from the nose. Understandably, the King's guardsmen came to be very wary of taking an assignment which could result in "skin off my nose", and eventually the phrase came to mean anything costly or painful. Those who had suffered the indignity of having their noses pared like an apple were, of course, subsequently easy to spot walking down the street, and peasants would tease them about the wisdom of "sticking their noses where they didn't belong".

Eventually the secret of the mark on the nose was discovered by spies who managed to infiltrate the cult, but the King, in his Divine Wisdom, refused to permit his guardsmen to stoop to such silliness, and proclaimed that any of his men wishing to keep their heads attached to their shoulders would do well to "keep their noses clean".

The English language is indeed a rich and colorful one, with a fascinating history."

Very interesting! It makes me want to look up a few more (I am open to suggestions).