I'm coming into this discussion late, so please forgive
any repetition.  Pulling down the corner of one's eye is the visual
analogue of winking or of putting one's tongue in cheek; it indicates
that the statement is to be taken ironically.

        Would that fit the context?

        Note Twain's early piece "A Washoe Joke," in which he
provides an elaborately detailed description of a petrified man.
The petrified man, once you decode the description, turns out to
be thumbing his nose at the onlooker.  Or, as Twain is fond of
putting it in other works, the onlooker realizes that he or she
has been "sold."

Hope this helps.

Donna Campbell
Buffalo State College