Who Came Up with “Nose Job”?

I’m a medical copywriter who does a lot of work in elective aesthetic medicine (aka, cosmetic surgery). Recently I’ve written several pages for clients about rhinoplasty. I was in the middle of writing a page for “nose jobs in Sacramento” when I realized that I had no idea who came up with this strange phrase for nose surgery. You’d think by harnessing the tremendous networking power of the internets, I would be able to quickly find some guidance on the origin of this term.

You would be wrong. I spent about 5 minutes looking into this online (I do have a full-time job to deal with as well) and my search came up dry. While I was searching, I also started wondering about the ubiquitous phrase “boob job.” How did surgical procedures turn into “jobs”? Is it a derivation of the phrase “having work done,” where work =  job?

In online dictionaries, I came across over 2 dozen meanings for the word “job,” but none that seemed to make sense or shed light on how the word came to be used in the plastic surgery context. there’s one thing I can tell you though – most cosmetic and plastic surgeons that I have worked with aren’t big fans of this slang term, which makes skilled surgery from highly-trained professionals sound a bit crass and throwaway. The nose job and the boob job are truly the terms of the tabloids.

There are a couple reasons why I think it does everyone involved to call rhinoplasty a “nose job.” First, from the surgeon’s perspective, this is an intricate surgical procedure that requires careful craft. It’s not like they can just knock a patient out, make a few slashes with the scalpel, and then shove some cotton balls up a patient’s nose. And from the patient’s perspective, I think the phrase discounts the legitimate cosmetic problems they are trying to address with nose surgery. Your nose is right in the middle of your face and if it looks unattractive, it can cause people to overlook other more attractive facial features such as your eyes or lips. Your face is a huge part of your self-image, and there are many good reasons for wanting to refine your nose.

I see stories on the front pages of trash magazines at the supermarket checkout and on the blogs speculating that so-and-so (usually Jennifer Aniston or Catherine Zeta Jones, they alternate each week) has had a nose job. It’s always presented to be scandalous, but my reaction is universally “so what?” the reasons celebrities get nose jobs in Malibu in many cases are the same reasons “regular folk” get nose jobs in Sacramento, Denver, or Baltimore – for an attractive look that better fits their face.