# Is toasting (clinking glasses + good wishes) universal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834 "2018-10-12T02:53:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/21 "2018-10-13T23:44:52Z")
“Chin chin,” or if spelled according to Italian orthography “cin cin,” is an Italian toast. Both sides of my family (from different parts of Italy) toasted with this, along with clinking glasses. I don’t know what it means, it must be short for something as “cin” is not a word in Italian so far as I know. This is a northern thing; southerners use “cent’anni,” “a hundred years,” as in “may you live to be…”. Clinking glasses is also a thing for the Americans of southern Italian extraction who use this toast. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/22 "2018-10-14T00:30:00Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > “Chin chin,” or if spelled according to Italian orthography “cin cin,” is an Italian toast. Both sides of my family (from different parts of Italy) toasted with this, along with clinking glasses. I don’t know what it means, it must be short for something as “cin” is not a word in Italian so far as I know. > > This is a northern thing; southerners use “cent’anni,” “a hundred years,” as in “may you live to be…”. Clinking glasses is also a thing for the Americans of southern Italian extraction who use this toast. Maybe the former is a corruption of the latter? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/23 "2018-10-14T01:29:48Z")
There are a lot of stories about “why is this done” - I suspect that they can’t all be true at the same time. 🙂 And customs that start for a certain reason don’t always continue for the same reason they started - something can become a fad or status symbol simply because someone saw someone else do it, and from then on, the reason becomes “Because that’s the way it’s always been done!” (Even if “always” means “since yesterday”. :)) I have read it described as a gesture substituting for the older ritual of passing a single big cup around and all drinking from the same one. True? False? How should I know, we’ve just always done it this way! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/24 "2018-10-14T05:13:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Maybe the former is a corruption of the latter? 😕 I’m sure it must be. It seemed to me in the prior posts that nobody knew this was a common Italian toast, nor that it would be spelled without an “h”. Sorry to have confused anyone. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/25 "2018-10-14T05:20:02Z")
Also, I just spent some time trying to google the meaning of “cin cin”–it led me down some unproductive and also bizarrely racist byways. ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2018, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/26 "2018-10-14T10:00:57Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > “Chin chin,” or if spelled according to Italian orthography “cin cin,” is an Italian toast. Both sides of my family (from different parts of Italy) toasted with this, along with clinking glasses. I don’t know what it means, it must be short for something as “cin” is not a word in Italian so far as I know. > > This is a northern thing; southerners use “cent’anni,” “a hundred years,” as in “may you live to be…”. Clinking glasses is also a thing for the Americans of southern Italian extraction who use this toast. In Italy they told me “cin cin” was originally french, but used in Italy as well. According to them the traditional Italian toast is “salute”. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/27 "2018-10-15T23:59:45Z")
This site suggests that toasts are uncommon in Muslim societies, due to their prohibition of alcohol. [https://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining\_etiquette/toasting\_etiquette/international\_toasts.html](https://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/toasting_etiquette/international_toasts.html) **African Toasts** Toasts are not appropriate in Muslim societies. Alcohol is prohibited, and you should never request it. If you wish to honor those present, say something such as, “We would like to extend our best wishes to …” **Egyptian Toasts** Toasts are not common. **South African Toasts** For a toast, South Africans raise their glasses and say “Cheers!” On less formal occasions, they sometimes clink their glasses together and say “Chin Chin.” … **Indonesian Toasts** Since 90% of Indonesians are Muslims, alcohol will not be served. If your host happens to be Indonesian of Chinese heritage and not Muslim, alcohol may be served. There is no tradition for toasting with alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/28 "2018-10-16T00:06:52Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Apparently, it used to be (and may still be) a no-no to clink beer glasses together in Hungary. So the story goes, a Hungarian rebellion was put down in 1849 by the Austrians, who merrily clinked their beer glasses together as the rebel leaders were executed, and Hungary vowed not to do so for 150 years. Some of the sources I have looked at say it’s still an observed tradition, and some say no one other than overly patriotic old coots give a damn anymore. Be careful on your next pub crawl in Budapest, in any case. I was told this in Hungry by my hosts. It seemed quite real. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2018, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/29 "2018-10-16T12:37:01Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > “Chin chin,” or if spelled according to Italian orthography “cin cin,” is an Italian toast. Both sides of my family (from different parts of Italy) toasted with this, along with clinking glasses. I don’t know what it means, it must be short for something as “cin” is not a word in Italian so far as I know. It’s not a toast per se, it’s just an onomatopoeia used to replace an actual toast. “I should say something like ‘to your health’ or whatever but don’t feel like doing that when it’s going to be drowned by the sound of a bunch of clinking glasses.” Neither _cin_ in Italian nor _chin_ in Spanish, Catalan, Galego or French mean jackshit by themselves. That chin happens to mean something in English is a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834/30 "2018-10-17T19:53:32Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I was told this in Hungry by my hosts. It seemed quite real. I’ve been to Hungry. The food was terrible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-toasting-clinking-glasses-good-wishes-universal/822834.md?page=1)