Artist touching his nose with the nose of an aged man. In some cultures having a long nose means the bearer is a leader who delegates or directs. Someone with a long nose is considered ambitious, forthright, stubborn, and has good common sense.

There is a term for two people touching noses - "Eskimo kissing". In modern Western culture, an eskimo kiss is the act of pressing the tip of one's nose against another's. It is loosely based on a traditional Inuit greeting called a kunik.

A kunik is a form of expressing affection, usually between family members and loved ones, that involves pressing the nose and upper lip against the skin (commonly the cheeks or forehead) and breathing in, causing the loved one's skin or hair to be suctioned against the nose and upper lip. A common misconception is that the practice arose so that Inuit could kiss without their mouths freezing together. In fact, it is a non-erotic form of greeting that serves as an intimate way of greeting one another for people who, when they meet, often have little except their nose and eyes exposed.