ABRAHAM
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON
I do bite my thumb, sir.
ABRAHAM
Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON
[aside to Gregory] Is the law of our side, if I
say 'Ay'?
GREGORY
No.
SAMPSON
No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir,
but I bite my thumb, sir.
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Or just "No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir."
The infraction itself is petty and truthfully nothing big in itself, but what it symbolizes is much grander. It's dumb, it's absurd, and it, in its absurdity, reflects the entire feud between the Montagues and Capulets.
