_Biting the Thumb_ (Vol. vi. pp. 149. 281. 616.).--The lower orders in
Normandy and Britanny, and probably in other parts of France, when wishing
to express the utmost contempt for a person, place the front teeth of the
upper jaw between the nail and flesh of the thumb, the nail being turned
inwards: and then, disengaging the thumb with a sudden jerk, exclaim, "I
don't care that for you," or words of similar import. Is not this the
action alluded to by Shakspeare and other writers, as "biting the thumb?"