thumb down

thumb down (third-person singular simple present thumbs down, present participle thumbing down, simple past and past participle thumbed down)

1. To get (a passing vehicle) to stop and give one a ride, signalling to the driver by holding out one's thumb (as a hitchhiker).

   I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, but luckily I managed to thumb down a passing car.

   • Bobby thumbed a diesel down, just before it rained
     It rode us all the way to New Orleans
     — "Me and Bobby McGee", song written by Kris Kristofferson / Fred Foster, first released 1969.

• thumb a lift
• thumb a ride