Thumb Your Nose At Someone Meaning

Meaning of Idiom ‘Thumb Your (or one’s) Nose’

To thumb one’s nose at someone means to show contempt or defiance; to ridicule or scorn someone; to show that you do not respect someone or something. 1Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,2Brenner, Gail. Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.,3Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms]. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.

A literal gesture is associated with the idiom ‘thumb your nose.’ This silly gesture is used to show contempt or to ridicule someone and consists of putting one’s thumb under the nose and wiggling the fingers Few, if any, actually use this gesture, today. Instead, the idiom is a figurative allusion to the original gesture.

See the related idiom flip someone off.

Sentence Examples

“The voters thumbed their noses at the mayor’s proposal that alcohol should not be allowed in town.”

“They thumbed their noses at us because they didn’t think we could win a match against such an experience team.”

“I really don’t feel respected at work. I have some good suggestions but everyone just thumbs their noses at them.”

“Look, Alex, just because you thumbed your nose at becoming a partner doesn’t mean you don’t have obligations to this firm.” It Runs in the Family (2003)

“We’re both reformers who are not afraid to thumb our nose at our own party.” Game Change (2012)

“This school saw fit to ban the play but the drama teacher thumbed his nose at the school and his now rehearsing the play in the community theater.” Bang Bang You’re Dead (2008)

“He violated due process. He thumbed his nose at the Bill of Rights. He´s a disgrace to our system of law enforcement.” 10 to Midnight (1983)

Origin

Used since the early 1900s.

This idiom is based on the literal meaning of ‘thumb your nose,’ the impolite gesture described above.

More ‘Nose’ Idioms