Another expression is as plain as the nose on your face . It means that something is as clear as it can possibly be.
Shakespeare used the words almost five hundred years ago for a joke in his play Two Gentlemen of Verona .
Valentine secretly loves Lady Sylvia. His servant jokes that Valentine's love for her is as hard to see as the nose on a man's face. Of course, a man's nose can not be hidden.
A more recent use of the expression appeared in a report in Newsday magazine.
It was about a dispute between the United States and Europe over agriculture.
The United States had criticized Europeans for protecting their soybean farmers.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in return criticized the United States for its huge budget deficits.
The report said the OECD seemed to be saying, "For God's sake, it is plain as the nose on your face that you must raise taxes."
