Literal Translation
Pull the worms out of the nose
Actual Meaning
Like pulling teeth/to worm information or a secret out of someone
Etymology
There are many theories about the origin of this expression, which has been in use since the 15th century, but none of them are entirely satisfactory.
One that seems appealing comes from a distortion of the Latin word “verum”,
“the truth”. So we would be pulling the truth out of the nose. But why the nose? And why “worms” in the plural?
Some refer to the charlatans of the time who claimed to cure people by removing worms from their noses, which were necessarily the cause of their illness(es). Littré even made a risky connection with blackheads, which are extracted from the top of the nose and, although they do have a black tip, look more like tiny white maggots.
None of these are particularly convincing though…