What it means
Nous is that bit of practical sense that stops things going pear-shaped. It’s not about sounding clever or knowing loads of fancy stuff. It’s knowing what’s obvious, clocking when something’s off, and using your head in a real-world way. If someone’s got nous, they’re switched on. If they’ve got no nous, that’s a proper little dig.
Usage examples
"He is clever on paper but he has got no nous, he left the car unlocked outside the shop again."
"She had the nous to unplug it before poking around inside, unlike some."
"You’ve got enough nous to check the train times before we leg it to the station, yeah?"
"He’s lovely, but there’s not much nous there if he thinks that email wasn’t a scam."
"Use a bit of nous, mate, if the website looks dodgy and wants your bank details, don’t just crack on."
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Where it comes from
It comes from Greek nous, meaning mind or intellect. English picked it up through learned writing ages back, then British everyday speech gave it a scrub and put it to work for plain practical sense. These days it’s less philosophy, more having the brains to deal with real life properly.
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