Thumbing your nose?

[BlueDagger]

I'm sorry to ask such a silly question, but what exactly does the gesture of "thumbing your nose" mean?

I-- I--... I watched The Matrix...

But anyway... I've searched wikipedia, but it refuses to tell me anything.

Someone please quench my confussion.

[NPCMook]

There are many old sayings that some don't know... like in Romeo and Juliet in the opening scenes where the two families argue and one bites his thumb at him as some form of insult. I have no idea what it means, except that its an insult.

[Blitzkommando]

Thumbing one's nose is a way of showing distain. Scoffing or showing you have no respect or will refuse to show respect to whatever you are thumbing at.

Biting one's thumb is essentially the precursor to 'the bird'.

And for more gestures look here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_of_gesture