Talking with your hands - bad or not so bad?

Gestures, sign language, talking with your hands ...
Do you ever talk with your hands? When you are happy, excited, angry or all the time?

I have a tendency to move my hands a lot when I talk, especially when I am excited. I am not the type to curse at others, but I may be guilty of using gestures that maybe considered bad, or not so nice ☺. I may of even inadvertently smacked someone when my hands are flailing around (oops).

I have mentioned on my blog before some of my health problems (mostly as a teaching tool) and have brought up the fact that I have arthritis, fibromyalgia and a host of other fun things to live with.

Recently, I had a visit to my rheumatologist and told him I was having a new problem with my hands. So I walked out of there wearing a fashionable splint temporarily. Who better to make fun of then yourself, so I felt like talking with my hands this week and see if anyone else out there has ever used gestures or hand signs to communicate.

Gestures or talking with your hands has been around for over a thousand years. I'm sure it most likely pre-dates the spoken word. Some particular hand signs have become very common and some are considered obscene (humm, whodda thunk?? ☺). Do you recognize any of the few I am sharing today?

Because of the possible offensive images below
   I am rating this post :

So one with the show ...

The good ...

the potentially naughty hand

this one I call "high five" or if moving back and forth "waving"

hands posed in the "okay" sign

hands speaking the "peace" sign

And the naughty ...

Yup, the dreaded middle finger. Also know as flipping the bird, disrespect, the swearing finger, evil or social finger. This one dates back to at least ancient Greece and Rome. Meaning mostly of what I have listed directly above and as a phallic symbol. Modern cultures have added more insult to it to make it very bad word that starts with a "F"! Horrors.

It is amazing what a few flips of your hand can mean. This is without the all the politically correct meanings of American Sign language. Maybe some of these should fall into a new sign category of outrage, slander or insulting universal language.

Do you have a favorite (or most seen/used) hand talking sign?
Do you consider talking with your hands bad or not so bad?

Until next time,

Keep smiling ☺

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