nothing at all
Preserved but no longer current.
Here fig is either an example of something comparatively worthless or the Spanish fico (<?.v.) — adopted as English by the Elizabethans — a gesture of contempt made by thrusting the thumb between the first and second fingers, much as we say, "I don't care that for you," snapping the fingers at the same time. See THUMB (To bite one's thumb). A fig for Peter.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
Tatoeba sentence #13506190 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “nothing at all” mean?
Here fig is either an example of something comparatively worthless or the Spanish fico (<?.v.) — adopted as English by the Elizabethans — a gesture of contempt made by thrusting the thumb between the first and second fingers, much as we say, "I don't care that for you," snapping the fingers at the same time. See THUMB (To bite one's thumb). A fig for Peter.
Is “nothing at all” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.