A Few Gestures Encountered in a Virtually Gestureless Society

Author(s): Jean Cooke

Source: Western Folklore, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Jul., 1959), pp. 233-237
Published by: Western States Folklore Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1497708
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Few

in

a Virtually

Gestures

Encountered
Gestureless Society
JEAN

COOKE

THE SOURCES
OF THEfollowing gestures, unless otherwise stated, are personal

observations and contributions solicited from friends at the International

House, Berkeley, in 1957. Some are widely known, and come from various
other places, including Los Angeles.
For the sake of convenience I have arranged the gestures according to
various parts of the body, but the numbering of individual items is consecutive throughout the article.
HEAD

1. A corkscrew motion made with the index finger in the vicinity of the
head. This is used commonly in the United States to denote that someone
other than the person making the gesture or the person with whom he is
communicating is not in full possession of his mental faculties.
2. Clapping the palm of the hand to the forehead, generally with a percussive noise. Although this is rather widely used among adults to express
despair or horror, I particularly recall its use among my Jewish acquaintances,
who often accompany it with "Oy! Gewaltl" or "Oyl Weh!"
3. "Donkey's ears," made by placing the thumbs above each ear and waving the fingers in unison: this expresses derision.
4. "Horns," a gesture made by projecting the forefingers and the little
fingers above each side of the head.
a. In the United States, among Americans of northwestern European
descent, this has a derisive meaning similar to that of "donkey's ears," although I believe that in Europe it is used as a charm to ward off evil.
b. Among Latin-Americans, Spaniards, and people of French and possibly Italian extraction, one makes horns at a man who is being cuckolded
by his wife. In a memorable French film of the late 1930's which depicted
rural life, called "The Baker's Wife," this gesture was used extensively. In
a cartoon of several years ago, Walt Disney inadvertently created a furor in
the Latin-American countries by depicting his charactersmaking the gesture.
Of the derivation of this gesture I am not sure. I once read that it was supposed to represent the spurs of the cock, and that there was a linguistic association between the French words coq and cocu; however, a recent informant
[233]

WESTERN

234

FOLKLORE

with a considerable knowledge of Romance philology told me that cocu is

derived from cucu, and refers to the lady cuckoo bird's frequent changes of
mates. In Spain and Spanish America the "horns" gesture is generally accompanied by the word cabron, or "he-goat" directed at both the victim and the
offender; it is therefore possible that a representation of goat horns is intended.
5. The knocking off of hats, a form of greeting between "old-timers." My
next door neighbor in Los Angeles, a man of middle age, remembers this
from Iowa and Minnesota; my father, a Minnesotan, recalls it from his boyhood as a challenge to fight. However, an anecdote in my mother's maternal
family, who have southern traditions, describes a meeting between two of
my great-grandunclesafter a separation of many years. Uncle Henry, the more
agile of the two, beat Uncle Lee to the punch by knocking off his hat first.
This bitterly disappointed Uncle Lee, who had been practicing on all comers
for weeks in anticipation of the reunion. Although I have no more recent
information than this event, which occurred in the 1930's, this may still be
practiced in the southern mountains, provided one has a hat.
EYES

6. The wink of one eye implies connivance when used by adults of either
sex; it is also used, especially by men, in flirting.
7. Opening the eyes wide and raising the brows indicates surprise and/or
disapproval.
8. iOjo!, a gesture employed by Mexicans in southern California, who
point to the right eye with the right index finger. The expression (the word
for "eye") which accompanies it popularly means tenga cuidado, or "be
careful."
NOSE

9. The Shanghai Gesture, or thumb-to-nose. While Professor Taylor's

paper has thoroughly dealt with this subject and has established that this is
primarily merely a gesture of derision and contempt, in northern Kentucky
it means "kiss my back-side"; in fact, I never knew until recently that it
had any other than this vulgar meaning. It is interesting that Dr. Taylor
turned up a different obscene connotation from another part of the same state.
o1. Wrinkling the nose as a sign of distaste. This may have resulted originally from a reflex action, but I believe its use is culturally transmitted.
11. Pinching the nose with the thumb and forefinger, which conveys an
extremely critical opinion: "it stinks!"

GESTURES IN A GESTURELESS SOCIETY

235

EARS

12. Holding the cupped hand behind the ear to denote difficulty in hearing a conversation. This probably has some physiological effectiveness; more
often it signifies, "Would you repeat that, please? I haven't been paying attention to what you are saying."
MOUTH,LIPS, TONGUE

13. Repeatedly and rapidly stroking the lower lip with the index finger,
with accompanying sound. This probably had its origin in some form of
theatrical entertainment, and is a comic gesture used to signify extreme confusion, mental derangement, or imbecility of the performer.
14. Putting the forefinger to the lips to indicate a desire for silence. It
would be interesting to know if this has universal distribution.
15. Sticking out the tongue, a gesture of derision and dislike, sometimes
used humorously, especially by children, and featured frequently in that
delightful comic strip, "Peanuts."
16. Tongue-in-cheek, an expression and a gesture which denote a combination of disbelief, humor, and irony.
CHIN

17. A single stroking of an imaginary beard, usually without touching the

chin. This is another Mexican gesture, employed by men when a pretty
girl passes by. It means repiocha ("swell") and is the Mexican equivalent of
the wolf-whistle.
SHOULDERS

18. Shrugging the shoulders, in the United States, conveys ignorance of a

fact, or indifference. French people shrug the shoulders and incline the head
to one side to register disbelief.
19. Throwing spilled salt over the left shoulder to avert misfortune. According to my genealogist mother, in the Scottish Highlands, spilled salt
means that one will soon be quarreling (cf. N131.3). (As the Scottish clans
were always fighting, there must have been a lot of salt spilled!) To throw
salt over the left shoulder is to ward off enemy danger.
ARMPITS

Strutting with the thumbs in the armpits, used by braggartsand boastful

little boys.
20.

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236

FOLKLORE

ARMS

21. Simulation of violin playing, which denotes mock sympathy for another's woes. This undoubtedly had its origin in the old melodramas accompanied by "Hearts and Flowers."
22. Holding the arms extended almost straight in front of the body with
the palms outward. This means "stop!," and could be universal.
23. Arms akimbo, with the hands clenched on the hips and the elbows
turned outward. This is a gesture of firmness and stubbornness.
24. Arms folded across the chest have the same meaning as No. 23.
25. Raising the arms overhead with the hands clenched. This is a selfcongratulatory gesture commonly used by prize-fighters, politicians, and
others wlio wish to display self-satisfaction.
26. A variable sweeping gesture of the arm across the body is employed
by motorists as an invitation to fellow-motorists to pass or to cross in front.
As this is not prescribed in any vehicle code, it must be a nearly automatic
response, illustrating the theory of "limited possibilities."
ELBOWS

27. Doubling the left elbow and touching it with the right hand is another
Mexican gesture; it refers to a person as "stingy." Codo means "elbow"; its
slang use as "stingy" is possibly a contraction of codicioso.
HANDS AND FISTS

28. Raising the hand and nodding the head as a gesture of thanks, used
by motorists. This is another gesture not prescribed in the vehicle code.
29. Knocking on wood. This is a charm used by one who makes an optimistic statement, in order that his good fortune may continue, and not suffer
a reversal.
30. A Mexican variant of the knocking gesture has the following familiar
J Y ; it is an insultwhichis the exact
rhythmicconfiguration:. J ,J 4I4
of
the
s.o.b.
Motorists
English
counterpart
play it on their horns; this might
be one of the reasons for the rigid enforcement in Mexico City of "No use
claxon" regulations.
31. Shaking a clenched fist, a gesture of belligerence.
FINGERS

32. Brushing one index finger with that of the other hand as a sign of

reproof. When I was in grammar school it meant "Shame on you!"

33. Crossing the fingers. This has several meanings:
a. The performer is not telling the truth.

GESTURES IN A GESTURELESS SOCIETY

237

b. A good luck charm, similar to knocking on wood.

c. "King's X": the performer no longer wants to play the game.
(This is probably related to the Sign of the Cross.)
34. Making a circle with the thumb and forefinger conveys an idea of perfection coupled with a sense of completion; it means "O.K!" plus.
35. Blowing one's breath on the fingernails, then pretending to polish nails.
This denotes ostentatious self-satisfaction, and is used humorously by adolescents and adults.
36. Shaking a finger as a gesture of admonishment. Too many people do
this; it is an outright if unwitting invitation to bite. (See Mary Jane Ward,
The Snake-Pit.)
37. Snapping the fingers in self-disgust or disappointment; rude persons
also snap the fingers to attract attention in public places, in which case it
often has an adverse effect.
38. Beckoning with the forefinger: "Come here!"
39. Various forms of greeting and of leave-taking. The native-born Americans generally wave or waggle the fingers. Some Italians have interesting
variations. Ciao! ("hello") is accompanied by the bending of the fingers
toward the recipient; for Ciao! ("good-by"), the hand is turned over with
the fingers bent toward the speaker.
HEART

40. "Cross my heart and hope to die," an oath probably related to making the Sign of the Cross or to swearing an oath on the Cross. This is widely
used by children, who take its implications lightly.
University of California, Berkeley