# Sticking your tongue out

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 22, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838 "2000-04-22T04:30:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Charly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Charly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charly)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/1 "2000-04-22T04:30:00Z")

</div>

Does anyone have any idea where the insult of sticking your tongue out at some one originated, and why it’s supposed to be so insulting in the first place?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/2 "2000-04-22T04:56:00Z")

</div>

Not in New Zealand. Among the Maori people, sticking out your tongue is a greeting. Hmm, at least that’s what they told me.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Margarita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@Margarita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Margarita)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/3 "2000-04-22T05:33:00Z")

</div>

I can’t tell you how it originated, but here’s an amusing anecdote:  
My best friend had an outspoken female boss, who, when antagonized, would make weird tounge-faces at employees and yell, “Lick me,Like me, Lick me!” Neither my friend nor the boss work there any more.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/4 "2000-04-22T05:49:00Z")

</div>

Greg, you were slightly misinformed.

The Maori stick their tongue out as a form of confrontation. It’s a precursory element to most of their war dances to show how fearsome they are (the combination of tongue, facial tattoos, and wild staring eyes, while brandishing a spear, is quite frightening).

And when I say ‘they,’ what I really should say is ‘we.’ As I am Maori.

* * *

[The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/)

- **Shadow of the Pigeon** -  
Weirdo of the Night

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/5 "2000-04-22T06:16:00Z")

</div>

Guano, have you ever enacted this palindrome?

“I roamed under it as a tired nude Maori.”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2000, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sticking-your-tongue-out/10838/6 "2000-04-22T06:44:00Z")

</div>

Half of it rings true 🙂 I can’t imagine roaming under anything, clothed or otherwise, frankly. And there’d be precious few who’d want to witness it if I was nekkid.

* * *

[The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/)

- **Shadow of the Pigeon** -  
Weirdo of the Night