Okay, this is just another insipid catch phrase from the late 1990s. The difference is, I know what the other ones mean. What does this one mean? Anyone know the originator? What’s their mailing address? (I have this fruitcake left over from Christmas 1963 that I thought they might like.)
My preferred WAG is that it means, “Don’t talk to me unless you want to get slapped” but that might just be the caesar salad talking.
It seems pretty obvious to me. You put out your hand, palm out and fingers up in the classic “Stop!” position, and say, “Talk to the hand.” (Sometimes followed by, “'Cause the face don’t wanna hear it!”) What’s not to get?
Boris,
I too feel that way about this phrase. I heard a little kid say it to her mother, and thought it was the rudest thing a kid could learn to say. I don’t know what I’d do if my kid said something like that.
Oddly enough, I was thinking about starting a thread about basically the same thing. I figured, though, that I was probably the only person who didn’t know the answer, since I’m a little behind on contemporary mainstream popular culture. Thanks for making me feel like less of an outlier, Boris.
However, I’ve heard the phrase as, “Talk to the hand, 'cause the face ain’t listening,” which puts a different spin on the interpretation. My thought: “What you’re saying is so dumb, I’m not even going to bother to listen.”
And, upon preview, I catch pldennison’s comment. I still want to know who the originator of the phrase is.
Y’know, I think it’s Fran Drescher.
I believe it’s from either her horrible TV show, or the movie she did a few years back, The Beautician and the Beast.
Stranger things have happened.
Hell, I didn’t even know the question. I don’t have any fantasies that I’m keeping up with the fashions, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard this phrase. So from what I gather, if someone is saying something you aren’t interested in hearing, the listener might put out his hand and say “talk to the hand?” I think if I had heard that before reading this thread, I would have been stumped about what I was being told.
There was no definitive answer last time this was asked.
“Talk to the Hand!” - 14 replies
I think this question is destined to remain one of the eternal mysteries.
Drescher certanly did say it in “Beautician and the Beast” – it showed up in the trailers. Timothy Dalton said it too. I suspect that this may have done a lot to popularize it, but I doubt it originated there. And I’m STILL not sure what it’s supposed to mean. The explanations i this thread don’t feel complete – I think something’s still missing.
To quote pldennison, “What’s not to get?”
You’re talking to me. I don’t want to hear it, and I’m incredibly rude. I put my hand (palm facing you) between my face and yours and say, “Talk to the hand ('cuz the face ain’t listening.”
It clearly and simply means, “Shut the F up. I’ve heard enough.”
Trust me. Nothing is still missing.
Also, it was said almost daily on the Ricki Lake show for years before Beautician and the Beast came out.
From the last thread on this topic:
Wow. You learn the most amazing stuff around here. 
I saw a variation of it: Talk to the finger because the face don’t agree with the hand.
“Talk to the fist, ‘cuz the hand is gettin’ pissed!”
“Talk to the back, because the front is moving on.”
Or, more surrealistically,
“Talk to the fish, because this bird has flown.”
“Talk to the sky, because the clouds have cleared.”
“Talk to the yang, because the yin overcomes by submitting.”
“Talk to the air, because the smoke is dissipating.”
“Talk to the sand, because the sun has left on the tide.”
One in a Zen theme:
“Talk to the void, because all is one.”
I crack myself up. Or perhaps I’m just cracked.
Q: How does a zen buddhist order a hot dog?
A: “Make me one with everything.”
Lemur,
Talk to the hand.
“Talk to the sine function, because this carrier has lost modulation.”
I could go like this all night.
I’ve always seen this as the person making motions with their hand as if they were operating a hand puppet. I assumed that they were saying, “Talk to my sock puppet, since I can’t be bothered with you.”
That’s the Universal Quack-Quack Handsign. It’s meant to represent the person who’s constantly rambling on about inane things.