Everything’s OK—or maybe not

As if things with France weren’t strained enough, with our renaming of French fries and their rejection of the term e-mail in favor of something entirely French, now we have to deal with the knowledge that the familiar handsign for “OK,” one recognized as, well okay, by 98 percent of Americans, means “worthless” in France.

If your waiter asks you if your escargot was good, you’re better off getting mocked for your bad French accent than if you try to signal your appreciation with the good ol’ OK sign.

In other countries, like Brazil, it’s even worse, as the OK sign symbolizes a very private orifice. Less frequently, the OK symbol combined with a chopping motion of the hand takes on the meaning, “you are so worthless, I will kill you tomorrow (because you’re too worthless for me to bother killing today).”

While this certainly is an elegant insult, it sounds impossible to believe. But it’s all spelled out in Gestures, by Desmond Morris, Peter Collett, Peter Marsh and Marie O’Shaughnessy. Gestures is a fascinating book that summarizes three years of research in Europe about what certain gestures there are thought to mean.

The rule of thumb (and index finger) on this one: Don’t make the sign outside of the United States.

Thumbs up

Hollywood would have us believe that this gesture originated with the Roman gladiators, and that a thumbs up or thumbs down would determine whether the gladiator lived or died. But this is not correct; there is even evidence to indicate that originally, thumbs down might have been the positive sign.

Whatever its origins, this is an ancient gesture, dating far back before the heyday of Siskel and Ebert.
In the United States, it can mean “everything is all right,” or, “I need a ride.”

But this meaning is by no means universal.

In Nigeria, tourists have been beaten up for trying to hitchhike with the aid of their thumbs. In Australia, it once again means “up yours,” something that makes me wonder if the Australians have as many ways of saying “up yours” as Native Alaskans do for snow.

The thumb can also be used as a counting figure, but differently in different parts of the world. In Japan, for example, it means “five,” while in Germany, it means “two.” While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it could certainly lead to confusion in a crowded Schnitzelbank or sushi bar when you find yourself with more beverages than you can drink.

Part III: Showing the Bottom of Shoes

At the risk of making an inexcusable pun, I will say that the agony of the feet can be a real thing.

In his entertaining book Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World, Roger Axtell describes a botched 1995 meeting between Saddam Hussein and Bill Richardson, who was then a U.S. Congressman from New Mexico. Richardson was trying to bring about the release of a pair of American hostages, but almost ended the meeting at its start because he crossed his legs and flashed a little sole.

In some Arab cultures, as in other cultures, to show a person the bottom of your shoe is a major insult. It’s worse than metaphorically putting your foot in your mouth; it’s like displaying your lowest, filthiest body part. An equivalent gesture in the United States might be to flash your bare bottom. How would you feel if someone did that to you while conducting business?

Given the way some people feel about the foot bottoms, it’s also a bad idea to put one’s shoes on a desk or other piece of furniture, especially in places like Japan, Thailand, and France, where these moves are considered taboo.