I worked at an ISP in London one summer a few years ago, and one of the guys there used to say things like “argh, total nosebleed” when things weren’t going well or proving to be difficult. I didn’t really adopt the phrase except on one occasion when I actually did have a nosebleed and went to the bathroom to sit it out until it stopped. I’ve always had intermittent spells of nosebleeds for as long as I can remember, particularly when its hot during the summer, or I’ve got a cold like at the moment. Nobody realised what had happened or why I’d rushed out until I got back to the office and I explained that there was no problem, I had actually just had a nosebleed… It seems particularly apt at the moment, I’ve had 5 or so in the past 3 days whilst stressing about completing a PhD application I’ve left until absolutely the last minute (through nobody’s fault but my own hesitation about whether or not to apply). Argh, complete and utter nosebleed!