# Do you give the "OK" hand gesture? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303 "2008-01-28T14:00:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/1 "2008-01-28T14:00:18Z")
I seem to recall people doing the [“OK” hand gesture](http://www.1000ventures.com/design_elements/selfmade/ccd_example_ok-gesture.gif) more often when I was a teenager, say 20 years ago (I grew up in the Midwest US). I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen anyone doing it in at least a decade. It just seems to have gone out of fashion, perhaps replaced by the thumb’s-up. So a couple of questions: 1. Do you now, or have you ever, used this gesture? 2. In your parts, does it seem to be dying, or alive and well? 3. The linked image says it is a US/UK thing. If you are not in the US or UK, what does it mean in your location? I would guess Canadians would also use it as “OK”, but I don’t want to assume and run the risk of being pummeled on my next vacation. Any other thoughts on this venerable gesture? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/2 "2008-01-28T14:11:59Z")
I only use it ironically. If I have to convey OK non-verbally I’ll generally use the ‘thumbs-up’. But I don’t often have to do that, so the thumbs-up is also often done ironically. Sort of an exaggerated 1950s print-ad gesture, sometimes accompanied by ‘Aces!’ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/3 "2008-01-28T14:24:33Z")
I’m from Spain and have seen it used in/by people from Latin America and Western Europe as well as USA and UK. 1. Mostly with both hands and arms raised, to people who were far enough that yelling “OK, GO!” would have brought the neighbors running, or across a window or somesuch. 2. It’s in OK health, not more popular than it was, not less. The “thumbs up” or other wide-arm gestures are easier to see clearly from those same distances. 3. It can also mean zero. A closed fist can mean zero as well, but in this case people begin by making a “counting with my fingers” sequence to keep the zero from being misunderstood as something else. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/4 "2008-01-28T14:34:43Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] I seem to recall people doing the [“OK” hand gesture](http://www.1000ventures.com/design_elements/selfmade/ccd_example_ok-gesture.gif) more often when I was a teenager, say 20 years ago (I grew up in the Midwest US). I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen anyone doing it in at least a decade. It just seems to have gone out of fashion, perhaps replaced by the thumb’s-up. So a couple of questions: 1. Do you now, or have you ever, used this gesture? 2. In your parts, does it seem to be dying, or alive and well? 3. The linked image says it is a US/UK thing. If you are not in the US or UK, what does it mean in your location? I would guess Canadians would also use it as “OK”, but I don’t want to assume and run the risk of being pummeled on my next vacation. Any other thoughts on this venerable gesture? [/QUOTE] I think it has been replaced with a thumb up. I haven’t seen the ok sign in years. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/5 "2008-01-28T14:45:19Z")
[QUOTE=Foxy40] I think it has been replaced with a thumb up. I haven’t seen the ok sign in years. [/QUOTE] Me, neither. I find myself doing the thumb up thing in a really awkward, dorky way, but I can’t seem to stop. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/6 "2008-01-28T15:06:08Z")
I am another thumbs-up person. Haven’t used OK symbol since grade school. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/7 "2008-01-28T15:10:11Z")
I use it sometimes, but ususally only to be corny- I use the thumbs up more often. I used it once in this dance club in Brasil and got some weird responses… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/8 "2008-01-28T15:13:16Z")
I’ve been wondering about this. I’m Canadian, almost 49. I used the “OK” sign to a young woman in my office a few weeks ago, and she had no idea what I meant. My seven year old kid uses the thumbs up all the time, never “OK”. When I was a kid, I don’t remember ever using thumbs up to mean OK, but we would use it, with an aggressive upward movement, as the equivalent of giving the finger. I wonder if that was ever widespread, or just one of those little regional things. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/9 "2008-01-28T15:26:18Z")
[QUOTE=Lionne] I am another thumbs-up person. Haven’t used OK symbol since grade school. [/QUOTE] Same here. I haven’t seen anyone use that gesture in ages (probably over 15 years ago) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/10 "2008-01-28T15:59:27Z")
Yes, I use the ok sign. Thumbs up means you’re going to ascend. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/11 "2008-01-28T16:43:03Z")
I don’t use it. I have to keep my middle finger freed up for other uses. ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/12 "2008-01-28T16:46:35Z")
I use it occasionally in an ironic, “yeah, right” sort of way and that’s about the only way I’ve seen it used around here. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/13 "2008-01-28T17:06:39Z")
The exotic connotation of “asshole!” sticks to it a little too much for me to use it unselfconsciously. I know that’s probably just me. Here in BC, our liquor stores use plastic bags with the copy “Thanks for knowing your limit,” and the graphic of a big “O.K.” hand gesture. I always read this as a sarcastic “Thanks for knowing your limit, _asshole_.” Nice. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/14 "2008-01-28T17:10:48Z")
I’ve never used the OK sign, but that’s because my family is Brazilian, and there it’s an obscene gesture. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/15 "2008-01-28T17:14:13Z")
I actually throw the heavy metal devil horns thing instead of a thumbs up or an OK sign. It signifies that everything rocks. I’m a total dork. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/16 "2008-01-28T17:15:45Z")
Seconded (Drain Bead). I’m married to a Brazilian woman, and it’s definitely inappropriate to give the OK sign down there (though the actual bad gesture is a variation of OK). Thumbs-up is especially useful in Brazil, however. You can pull off the most amazingly buttheaded move in traffic and, as long as you give a broad smile out the window as you wave your extended “thumbs up,” nobody will be upset with you. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/17 "2008-01-28T17:43:12Z")
So, it’s not looking too good for the OK gesture. I wonder if things like this go in and out of fashion. Maybe 20 years from now, it will be back in vogue. I hope someone with knowledge of Japanese culture will drop in to confirm/refute the assertion in the linked image that the symbol means “money” in Japan. I’d heard that it was vulgar in Brazil, but the Japanese meaning was new to me. ---
**Author:** ![fatgail](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fatgail/32/7285_2.png) [@fatgail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fatgail)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/18 "2008-01-28T17:45:10Z")
[QUOTE=Rasa] I use it occasionally in an ironic, “yeah, right” sort of way and that’s about the only way I’ve seen it used around here. [/QUOTE] Ditto. Like when listening to the State of Union address tonight (is it tonight?) I will be guilty of the OK sign along with a raised eyebrow and “whatever you say pal”. And then my husband will say “you know he can’t hear you” and I’ll say “Don’t sully my anger with your reality”. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/19 "2008-01-28T18:03:02Z")
Never use it, and don’t see it, not even among recent British immigrants. If anything, we use the thumbs up. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303/20 "2008-01-28T18:16:09Z")
Dammit, isn’t that the, “you looked at this, so now I get to you” sign? Ok, fair is fair…you get one, **Bayard** , but you watch your back… **offers shoulder** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-give-the-ok-hand-gesture/435303.md?page=2)