I heard a long time ago that in one of the asian countries, giving the A-OK sign is equivalent to flipping someone off. Is that true, and if so, which country is that? Just curious, thanks.
In Mexico, something very similar to the OK sign is considered obsene. Someone told me it means “fk your mother’s ahole,” with the circle representing the hole, but I’m not sure I buy that.
I will never forget when George Bush Snr came to Australia and was giving everyone the victory sign in a motorcade with the back of his hand facing the crowd. In Australia, that’s the same as flipping the bird. After a few minutes, some one whispered in his ear and he quickly turned his hand around the other way - which is perfectly acceptable and understood.
Well, everyone here in Korea knows the classic “One Finger Salute” and it’s meaning… but it’s not a Korean gesture…
I believe the traditional Korean equivalent is a closed fist with the thumb peeking out between the index and middle fingers, ala the western “I got your nose!” game played with children.
Same thing in Japan. I’ve heard it’s supposed to represent female genitalia, but I could be wrong. I learned this after getting yelled at for teaching the “got your nose” gag to a friend’s daughter. They were American, but their kid went to a Japanese kindergarten and they didn’t feel like getting yet another phone call from the teacher.
Dang, I recall it differently. I thought he gave the thumbs-up sign, which is interpreted as “shove it up your ass” in Austrailia.
As evidence of my devotion to the principle of ignorance-fighting, I shall post this link.
Why does Rat Race come to mind while viewing this thread?
Nice link. Unfortunatly, clicking on “Gestures in Asia and the Pacific.” gets you a “Page can’t be found.” error.
This is true in Brazil. The gist is essentially that of flipping someone off.
Actually, clicking on all four regions gets the same error. Very content-free.
Isn’t giving thumbs up a rude gesture in some country or another? Or am I insane? On second thought, those two aren’t mutually exclusive.