Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

I wonder if the phrase my auntie, born 1909, used: "Hold your noses!" She used this as she backed up her car to hoist the load of hay up into the barn. We little kids were in the back seat enjoying the process. As an adult, I thought she meant we were about to enjoy a risky plunge like diving into water. Perhaps it was this older reference to getting ready for an exciting surge. This would have been right at the time on the family farm of transitioning from literal horse power to tractor power---we had to use auntie's car as the hoist because there was no tractor yet---late forties/early fifties.