Others have had to bring in nosegays because of the stench.
I should like to add to the nosegay the humble leek.
I gather that in the eighteenth century people carried nosegays of flowers because the sweet scent of the flowers counteracted the vile smell of the streets.
Alternately, a modified nosegay that a prom date can carry in her hand or a pin-on type corsage.
Her poems were often sent to friends with accompanying letters and nosegays.
So a "nosegay" was an ornament that appeals to the nose or nostril.
It was not allowed to give flowers, not even the smallest nosegay.
The stench was overwhelming and people walked around with handkerchiefs or nosegays pressed against their nostrils.
