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also in the book:
These gestures are just a few of the many, many offensive hand signs we diligently collected around the world. Check out THE FINGER before traveling to any foreign country. You may live to regret it.
HORN (or DEVIL's) SIGN
ARABIAN NOSE JERK
THE EGYPTIAN FIVE FINGER TAP and CROSSED FINGERS
THE FICA (or FIG)
O.K. SIGN
JAPANESE CROOKED FINGER
CHINESE SINGLE PINKIE
SOUTH AMERICAN PISTOLA
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 If you find yourself on foreign soil, it's always best to know how to properly enrage your host with a native insult. It makes it that much more satisfying to see his shocked face as he realizes he is not hustling some run-of-the-mill gringo. But remember to be careful. Flashing a few of these signals in an unenlightened country may get you in big trouble, land you in the slammer, or cause a horde of raging villagers armed with pitchforks to chase you down a muddy lane, cursing you to their pagan god.
Unfortunately, do not rely on the website to be a complete guide to these gestures. It is but a small sample of the many, many you will find in THE FINGER. |
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FOREARM JERK
Gesture: One hand slapped to the upper arm, and that arm raised with a fist.
Location: France, Southern Europe, the Mideast, and many other locations around the world
In much of the world this new-improved arm-sized phallic insult has replaced the more ancient middle finger. In France, where the gesture may have originated, it is called the bras d' honneur, or the arm of honor, which is a funny moniker for a gross sexual insult. This macho combination of a gigantic erect penis and a threatening fist says, 'Fuck off!', or 'Up yours!' very vehemently. As a special bonus, the slapping of the hand against the opposing arm makes it seem as if the super-penis has gone so far up the recipient's receiving canal, it can't go any further. Although it's not necessarily a homosexual gesture, the violated canal is presumably anal, and not vaginal. Not to be outdone by namby-pamby Europeans, Americans (and also the Portuguese) combine both gestures simultaneously, offering a special double dong attack. |
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PALM-BACK V SIGN
Gesture: The peace sign, but reversed so the palm faces the recipient
Location: Jolly 'Ole England
If an American was visiting England and saw someone give them the palm-back V sign, they'd probably mutter, "Damn hippies". Yet the Englishman wasn't offering a symbol of peace, but instead telling you, "up your bum!".
In the British Isles, the palm-back V sign has the same meaning as the finger, but with a cockney accent. It's use can be traced back to the 16th century, but it's hard to pin down. Whether it was first used as a variant of the cuckold's devil's horns, or as a variant of the more ancient middle finger, but with some extra fingers thrown in to make it that much more painful is unknown.
In 1941 Winston Churchill made what we now know as the 'V-for-Victory sign' famous. He made no distinction between the forward and palm-back V sign until the latter part of the war when someone probably pointed out he was telling the masses to, "piss off". As always, those wacky elites really had no idea what the peasants were cooking up. This general confusion was exploited by American antiwar protesters in the 60's who used the palm-back sign to secretly tell the police to fuck off without getting themselves a one-way ticket on the Kent State Express.
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NOTE:
THE AGINCOURT ORIGIN is a myth - albeit an oft reported one. According to Desmond Morris in his book, GESTURES, the first recorded instance of the palm-back V was about 80 years after the war. Agincourt is one of the best recorded battles of the period. Ther are no first person accounts of this gesture being used. See finger update for more info. |
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Margaret Thatcher mistakenly makes a palm-back v sign to English voters after an election gain. It's not the first time a politician told voters to piss off, but just not so elegantly. |
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THUMBS UP
Gesture: Upthrusted thumb
Location: Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria and parts of Italy and Greece
Contrary to popular belief- the thumbs up gesture did not spare a gladiator's life in Ancient Rome. A plebeian's pointed thumb or pollice verso (whether the thumb was pointed up, down, or somewhere in between we don't know) meant the combatant was to be slain. A HIDDEN thumb, folded out of sight, or the pollice compresso meant he was to be spared. The famous scene in "Spartacus", where the Emperor signals a warriors life would be spared by the upturned thumb, was flawed by mistranslation through the ages.
In much of the world today, the thumbs up means, "O.K.", "Right On!", or "I like this movie, Gene... uh... Gene?" But in Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria and parts of Italy and Greece it is an obscene insult, especially when combined with a sweep of the arms. It most places it roughly means, "Sit on my phallus, asshole," and carries the same stigmatism as the middle finger. In southern Sardinia, where this gestures is noted for being particularly obscene, a hitchhiker would be well advised not to wave his thumb in the air expecting a car to pick him up, or he may find himself under the wheels of a large truck.
MOUTZA "Eat Shit"
Gesture: Display of the open palm
Location: Greece (parts of Africa)
The 'moutza' refers to the ancient Byzantine practice of villagers thrusting shit in the faces of chained criminals paraded around town. In modern Greece, any outward hand motion is deemed extremely offensive. They go as far as waving good-bye inwardly toward themselves like a beauty pageant queen. |
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