I’ve heard this before and alot of people have a game involving it, however I’m begining to think that no one has the smae definition…or at least I’m in some backwoods, Deliverance parallel universe here.
When I learned it in college (had never heard it in high school) it was basically a silent way of saying “Not it”. If something needed to be done (also used in drinking games) and there are a group of people equally qualified to do it you’d touch your nose and the last person to notice/do it has to do whatever.
I’m thinking this has nothing to do with Astroboys rule based on context…what the hell is it then?
From context, I assume it means he touches his nose to mean “I’m kidding.” But it could be anything, really.
It is sometimes helpful to have a code to indicate that you’re serious and really mean what you’re saying, especially if you tend to joke, be sarcastic, or otherwise confuse fantasy and reality on a regular basis.
Especially when you don’t share a language and are both great kidders as Astroboy and his lady are. But you have it reversed. He or she touches his nose to indicate they are not kidding, i.e. they tell the truth when touching their nose.