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Glite Dictionary
cocking of a snook

cocking of a snook

9.9
A rude gesture showing no respect by putting a thumb on the nose and wiggling the fingers
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : gesto de desprecio
  • The protesters saw their demonstration as a cocking of a snook at government restrictions.

Examples

  • His decision to ignore the rules was seen as a bold cocking of a snook at authority.

  • Her sarcastic reply was a verbal cocking of a snook towards her critics.

  • By not attending the meeting, he was cocking of a snook at the company leadership.

  • He gave a cocking of a snook to the rude comments.

  • Why did she perform a cocking of a snook at the teacher?

  • During the debate, she made a cocking of a snook at her opponent's claims with a dismissive gesture.

  • The child's playful mimicry of the teacher was a cute cocking of a snook that made everyone laugh.

Antonyms

respect
∞ 1.0

A feeling of admiration for someone because they are good or successful

deference
34 7.8

Polite respect that makes you accept someone's wishes or opinions

How Derisive

to raise a middle finger
  • Offensive
8.3
cocking of a snook
  • Archaic
9.9
dirty look
10 2.8
scowl
15 3.9
frown
54 1.0

Surface Forms

cocking of a snook singular
cockings of a snook plural

Morphology

cock + of + a + snook

The phrase is an idiomatic, culture-specific British expression whose meaning (a thumb-on-the-nose gesture of derision) is not transparently built from 'cock' (to tilt) and the obscure noun 'snook'. Because 'snook' has no clear, relevant literal sense for most learners and the gesture is conventional rather than compositional, a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the idiomatic meaning.

Etymology

Cocking of a snook may come from a childish gesture: you put your thumb on your 'nose' and wiggle your fingers, and people called this cocking the snook. So the phrase now means 'a gesture of defiance or contempt'.