Yes, Mr Karzai eventually buckled in Kabul, but his readiness to thumb his nose at the world superpower was humiliating.

是的，卡尔扎伊最后还是在喀布尔低了头，但是他无时无刻不在藐视这个世界强权，这是在太让人丢脸了。

youdao

Half the pleasure of getting big, I think, is to thumb your nose at the indignity of getting dignified.

公司壮大的一半乐趣，我认为，是对“先贬后褒”毫不在意。

youdao

The company dared thumb its nose at the high holy place of American car commercials, the Super Bowl, and it withdrew paid advertising on Facebook just as the Silicon Valley Holy Grail was going public.

FORBES: GM's Deal With Manchester United Isn't About Europe, It's About The World

Kevin Mitnicks crime was to thumb his nose at the costly computer security systems employed by large corporations.

FORBES: The demonizing of a hacker

Some authors say their interest was spurred by recent events, such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry's remark in 2009 that "if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people you know, who knows what might come out of that" (Mr. Perry has repeatedly said he doesn't favor secession).

WSJ: In Texas, the Secession Movement Blooms in Fiction