Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US tramp) a false show of religious belief or action to gain handouts from a religious mission.

1935		E. Anderson Hungry Men 4: You got to do a nose dive [...] Go up in front while they’re singing and kneel down and let ’em pray over you.
1944		O. Ferguson ‘Vocab. for Lakes, [etc.]’ AS XIX:2 104: Probably nosedive, too, is well known; this applies to missions-cum-revivals, in which the candidate for a nice thick bowl of soup comes to Jesus.
1952		in Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol XIV 476: Exploiting the mission ...entails too many ‘ear bangings’ (sermons) and ‘nose dives’ (prayers) [HDAS].
1968		in J.P. Spradley You Owe Yourself a Drunk (1988) 42: Says you don’t have to take a ‘nose dive’ my place.
1970		S. Terkel Hard Times 38: Once in a while somebody would take a nosedive, profess religion. They’d stick around a while, just to have a roof.

2. (US) a loss of emotional or mental control.

1936

Gaddis Courtesan 80: The same dame the colonel did a nosedive about [HDAS].

3. (orig. US) a fainting spell or a fall.

1920		R. Lardner Big Town 220: He got up from his chair, done a nose dive acrost the table and laid there with his head in the chili sauce.
1942		Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Sl.
1985		D. Ponicsan Vision Quest [film] The fellas told me you took a nosedive in the hallway [HDAS].

4. (orig. US) fig. a fall; a rejection.

1935		A.J. Pollock Und. Speaks n.p.: Nose dive, unsuccessful on a job; turned down; rejected.
1967		in S. Harris Hellhole 220: Once she and Rusty had poured out the intimate details of their lives, Jenny’s interest in Rusty took a nosedive.
1999		Guardian 15 Nov. 🌐 The original Daiwa building was commissioned shortly before the Japanese economy took a nosedive in 1991.