Bite

To bite one’s thumb at another. To insult; to provoke to a quarrel.

“Gregory. I will frown as I pass by: and let them take it as they list.

“Sampson. Nay, as they dare. I will bite my thumb at them; which is a disgrace to them, if they bear it.”—Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, i. 1.

To bite the lip, indicative of suppressed chagrin, passion, or annoyance.

“She had to bite her lips till the blood came in order to keep down the angry words that would rise in her heart.”—Mrs. Gaskell: Mary Barton, chap. xi.

To bite upon the bridle. To champ the bit, like an impatient or restless horse.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.