What does 'bite to it' mean?

In House of Cards, Zoe says:

There's no bite to it.

She told me about a profile she's working on.

What does 'bite to it' mean here?


Solution 1:

From Cambridge Dictionary...

bite noun
...
(STRONG TASTE)
If food has bite, it has a sharp or strong taste - e.g. I like mustard with bite
...
(STRONG EFFECT)
a powerful effect - e.g. This satire has real bite

Note that the second definition is effectively just a metaphorical extension of the first, which itself is extended from the "literal" sense of the verb bite = use one's teeth to cut into something.


I don't know the full context of OP's cited usage, so I can't say for sure which of those two definitions applies. But Zoe is probably expressing disappointment that the profile lacks metaphorical "punch" - the power to be interesting and have a strong effect on people.


Note that the construction There's no X to it is simply an alternative way of expressing the assertion It has no X or It lacks X - usually restricted to contexts where one might reasonably expect X to be somehow associated with whatever "it" is.