Dictionary of Gestures

An illustrated guide to more than 850 gestures and their meanings around the world, from a nod of the head to a click of the heels.

Gestures convey meaning with a flourish. A vigorous nod of the head, a bold jut of the chin, an enthusiastic thumbs-up: all speak louder than words. Yet the same gesture may have different meanings in different parts of the world. What Americans understand as the “A-OK gesture,” for example, is an obscene insult in the Arab world. This volume is the reference book we didn't know we needed—an illustrated dictionary of 850 gestures and their meanings around the world. It catalogs voluntary gestures made to communicate openly—as distinct from sign language, dance moves, involuntary “tells,” or secret handshakes—and explains what the gesture conveys in a variety of locations. It is organized by body part, from top to bottom, from head (nodding, shaking, turning) to foot (scraping, kicking, playing footsie).
We learn that “to oscillate the head while gently throwing it back” communicates approval in some countries even though it resembles the headshake of disapproval used in other countries; that “to tap a slightly inflated cheek” constitutes an erotic invitation when accompanied by a wink; that the middle finger pointed in the air signifies approval in South America. We may already know that it is a grave insult in the Middle East and Asia to display the sole of one's shoe, but perhaps not that motorcyclists sometimes greet each other by raising a foot. Illustrated with clever line drawings and documented with quotations from literature (the author, François Caradec, was a distinguished and prolific historian of literature, culture, and humorous oddities, as well as a novelist and poet), this dictionary offers readers unique lessons in polylingual meaning.Acknowledgments -- ix
On the Beauty of Gestures -- 1
1 The Head -- 37
2 The Temples -- 47
3 The Ear -- 53
4 The Forehead -- 59
5 The Eyebrows and the Eyelashes -- 63
6 The Eye -- 65
7 The Nose -- 71
8 The Mouth -- 83
9 The Lips -- 95
10 The Tongue -- 101 
11 The Teeth -- 105
12 The Cheeks -- 109
13 The Chin -- 115
14 The Neck -- 121
15 The Shoulders -- 127
16 The Armpits -- 133
17 The Arm -- 135
18 The Forearm -- 147
19 The Elbow -- 153
20 The Wrist -- 157
21 The Fingernails -- 163
22 The Hand -- 167
22.5 The Fist -- 193
23 Both Hands -- 201
24 Hand to Hand -- 225
25 The Thumb -- 235
25.5 The Thumb is Not Alone -- 243
26 The Index Finger -- 251
27 The Middle Finger -- 273
28 The Ring Finger -- 277
29 The Little Finger (The Pinky) -- 279
30 The Torso -- 281
31 The Chest -- 283
32 The Hips -- 291
33 The Waist and the Stomach -- 293
34 The Buttocks -- 297
35 The Groin, the Genitals, the Thighs -- 301
36 The Knees, the Legs -- 307
37 The Foot -- 311
Bibliography -- 315
Image Credits -- 317
Index -- 319This work deserves a thumbs up for its appeal to a broad audience.
—Booklist—
If François Caradec's delightfully idiosyncratic Dictionary of Gestures is to be believed, almost all of them amount to some species of mortal insult or erotic invitation somewhere in the world.
—Daily Telegraph—
[a] huge contemporary relevance, helping to avoid misunderstandings in an increasingly multicultural society. This book could even save lives.
—The Spectator—
A strangely eclectic reference manual....an eyeopener.
—National Post—François Caradec (1924–2008) was a French writer and a member of both the Collége de 'Pataphysique and the Oulipo. His voluminous oeuvre includes biographies of Raymond Roussel and Alfred Jarry, as well as an encyclopedia of practical jokes and a dictionary of French slang. Caradec was a devoted specialist in Alphonse Allais, compiling and editing his collected works, and was one of the first historians of the bande dessinée in France.