To bite the thumb at

Bite \Bite\ (b[imac]t), v. t. [imp. {Bit} (b[i^]t); p. p.
   {Bitten} (b[i^]t"t'n), {Bit}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Biting}.] [OE.
   biten, AS. b[imac]tan; akin to D. bijten, OS. b[imac]tan,
   OHG. b[imac]zan, G. beissen, Goth. beitan, Icel. b[imac]ta,
   Sw. bita, Dan. bide, L. findere to cleave, Skr. bhid to
   cleave. [root]87. Cf. {Fissure}.]
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   1. To seize with the teeth, so that they enter or nip the
      thing seized; to lacerate, crush, or wound with the teeth;
      as, to bite an apple; to bite a crust; the dog bit a man.
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            Such smiling rogues as these,
            Like rats, oft bite the holy cords atwain. --Shak.
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   2. To puncture, abrade, or sting with an organ (of some
      insects) used in taking food.
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   3. To cause sharp pain, or smarting, to; to hurt or injure,
      in a literal or a figurative sense; as, pepper bites the
      mouth. "Frosts do bite the meads." --Shak.
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   4. To cheat; to trick; to take in. [Colloq.] --Pope.
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   5. To take hold of; to hold fast; to adhere to; as, the
      anchor bites the ground.
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            The last screw of the rack having been turned so
            often that its purchase crumbled, . . . it turned
            and turned with nothing to bite.      --Dickens.
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   {To bite the dust}, {To bite the ground}, to fall in the
      agonies of death; as, he made his enemy bite the dust.

   {To bite in} (Etching), to corrode or eat into metallic
      plates by means of an acid.

   {To bite the thumb at} (any one), formerly a mark of
      contempt, designed to provoke a quarrel; to defy. "Do you
      bite your thumb at us?" --Shak.

   {To bite the tongue}, to keep silence. --Shak.
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