To hold your nose is to pinch the nostrils shut against a smell. Hold your nose and swallow it.
It also blocks most of the taste, since taste is mostly smell. To hold your nose and vote for somebody is the figurative use and is very common in politics.
1phrasehold your noseTo pinch the nostrils shut against a smell.
“Hold your nose and the medicine goes down without any trouble.”
hold your nose is a gesture.
Practised in Body Language & Gestures