# Someone offers you a left-handed handshake... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543 "2015-10-13T13:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/1 "2015-10-13T13:13:40Z")
This happens to me at least once or twice a year, usually because the other person’s right hand is holding something, or whatever…what do you do? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/2 "2015-10-13T13:15:37Z")
I think I’ve often responded by taking their left hand with my right hand, which is…awkward. If I actually had time to think about it and am not caught off guard, I’d be likely to switch hands, I think. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/3 "2015-10-13T13:19:18Z")
A quick, hard roundhouse to the jaw using my right hand. Their left is uselessly outa position defense-wise and they’ll fall like a stack of bricks. Sure, I’ll need to explain/apologize/maybe post bail, but it’s only once a year. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/4 "2015-10-13T13:28:14Z")
I’m left-handed, so the original purpose of shaking hands with the right hand (to confirm that your weapon hand is empty) does not apply to me. I’m probably holding an axe in my left hand behind my back at the time… ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/5 "2015-10-13T13:28:57Z")
I have never had this happen and would leave them hanging from shock. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/6 "2015-10-13T13:35:27Z")
Either of the first two options, whatever happens to work out. This has happened to me very rarely. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/7 "2015-10-13T13:36:49Z")
It is the custom in my country to respond with one’s own left hand. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/8 "2015-10-13T14:38:45Z")
I would offer them my left hand, of course. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/9 "2015-10-13T14:57:13Z")
When I was 21, I met my then-girlfriend’s dad. I thrust my right hand out before noticing that _his_ right sleeve was hanging empty. His comment? “I never knew an Indian could turn that red.” (_“And as I fled screaming to the house’s exit, I saw, hanging from the interior knob of the door, a bloody hook.”_) (No, no. Too early in the month yet, Jim. True story above, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/10 "2015-10-13T15:06:05Z")
It entirely depends on the situation. If I’m meeting someone in a formal or semi-formal way, unless there’s a good reason, it’s poor form on their part. In such a situation if my right hand is indisposed, I’ll attempt to shift what I’m hold or whatever to offer the expected handshake appropriately, and I’d generally expect the same from them. If it’s less formal, I’d probably eventually confusingly offer a left hand. Though, more often if it’s just a greeting of some sort, particularly among friends, a fist bump or a wave or whatever works just as well if it’s obviously a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/11 "2015-10-13T15:08:18Z")
The only time this has happened to me was with a guy with one arm, so I figured I’d cut him some slack. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/12 "2015-10-13T15:09:02Z")
Will someone explain why it is “poor form”? ---
**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 13, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/13 "2015-10-13T15:10:29Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > The only time this has happened to me was with a guy with one arm, so I figured I’d cut him some slack. Same here. Or some other serious injury to his right hand. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/14 "2015-10-13T15:18:09Z")
Most of the times this has happened to me, I’ve just put out my right hand. I think most of those handshakes were more “under the bottom” than “over the top” as described in the poll. Mostly I let the other guy do the grabbing. I think once or twice I might have offered my left hand. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/15 "2015-10-13T15:29:38Z")
They stuck out their left hand. This has happened to me on maybe a half dozen occasions. (I know a lot of people in the trades (construction workers, pipe fitters, mechanics) I’ve assumed that they had an injury that prevented the use of their right hand. My first choice is to reach out with my left hand, but I’ve shaken hands my-right-to-their-left. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/16 "2015-10-13T15:58:11Z")
I ignore the hand and go in for an intense 30-second hug. ---
**Author:** ![MHaas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MHaas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MHaas)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/17 "2015-10-13T16:05:43Z")
As someone who shakes hands exclusively with their left hand (due to a serious injury to my right hand as a child), I’ll be tracking any discussion in this thread with interest. I can tell you from my experience that the vast majority of people I encounter respond with their right hand. I eventually just started to offer my left hand inverted to shake their right, after years of awkward hand shakes. Most of my friends and family make the effort to offer me their left hands though, which is nice. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/18 "2015-10-13T16:13:09Z")
I shake their left hand, of course. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/19 "2015-10-13T16:18:50Z")
When feasible, I’ll offer my left. However, there’s a good chance that my left is occupied - I do a lot of my handshaking at parties, church or networking events, which means my left is holding a drink to free my right for shaking. It’s too awkward to fix that, so I just stick out my right. If I am shaking right-to-left like that, I usually grab their wrist. It feels less awkward than figuring out what to do with all those fingers. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543/20 "2015-10-13T16:24:09Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > When feasible, I’ll offer my left. However, there’s a good chance that my left is occupied :eek: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/someone-offers-you-a-left-handed-handshake/734543.md?page=2)