# What does sticking your tongue out at someone mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 20, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895 "2006-12-20T06:02:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/1 "2006-12-20T06:02:11Z")
Does it have a meaning? Or is it something kids do naturally, and we’re just imitating them? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Captain\_C](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_C)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/2 "2006-12-20T06:06:45Z")
It is a childish/playful way of saying “nuts to you!” ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/3 "2006-12-20T06:30:21Z")
I think the OP was going for the “why” of the tongue, rather than say, that hand on the crook of the elbow thing which seems to convey the same meaning? (“Nuts to you”, I mean) I don’t have the answer to this interesting question, but just wanted to clarify its intent a bit. I hope that _is_ what you meant? Q ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/4 "2006-12-20T07:47:48Z")
Unfortunately the language of gesture is likely older than that of speech, and therefore ultimately unknowable. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/5 "2006-12-20T09:08:24Z")
Well it _could_ mean I want to run this over your genitals. Just bringing up a more cheerful possiblity. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/6 "2006-12-20T09:11:20Z")
Ergh, I don’t know about Places Abroad, but Over Here we consider the crook to the elbow a serious insult. The tongue isn’t an insult, it displays mockery in fun or irritation but comparing the two is… like comparing “oh, you’re silly!” with “motherfucker”. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/7 "2006-12-20T11:22:11Z")
I tend to use it when I’ve had an argument that maybe got a bit more heated than it needed to. It’s a playful way of saying ‘this is ridiculous, let’s laugh at ourselves!’ ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/8 "2006-12-20T11:41:09Z")
I’ve done it playfully a few times, in a “sez you! I don’t care!” gesture. It _is_ supposed to be a hark back to childhood – that’s why it’s non-threatening in those situations. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/9 "2006-12-20T12:47:47Z")
> [@](#): > > rather than say, that hand on the crook of the elbow thing Huh? Never seen this gesture. More details? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/10 "2006-12-20T12:57:49Z")
[QUOTE=betenoir] Well it _could_ mean I want to run this over your genitals. Just bringing up a more cheerful possiblity. [/QUOTE] Indeed but only if you waggle your tongue up and down frantically. Drooling also helps. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/11 "2006-12-20T13:25:18Z")
[QUOTE=RumMunkey] Huh? Never seen this gesture. More details? [/QUOTE] Since I don’t know what it’s called in English, I had to google in Spanish. And it’s so rude that you get very few hits. Click [here](http://www.marca.com/automovilismo/dakar01/fotospolemica.html) and then on the link that says “Maimon pierde los nervios…” to see one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/12 "2006-12-20T13:26:11Z")
I don’t generally agree with Structural Anthropologist Claude Levi-Straus, but he suggested an origin for this gesture that is, AFAIK, the only serious attempt to do so, and it’s not bad. Here it is He suggests that the sticking-the-tongue-out gesture that acts as a juvenile rejection taunt is basically the same motion used by an infant rejecting food being forced in by its mother (in pre-tech societies, this wouldn’t be Gerber Strained Whatever, but food chewed up by Mom and essentially spit into the baby’s mouth. In other words, it’s an infantile rejection sign, and the one used by older kids is the same rejection mechanism used in more general circumstances. The other tongue gestures, especially the erotic ones, may owe a little to this (erotic games often seem to include a return to child play patterns), but has a pretty obvious sexual suggestion to it (“I can use this to lick you with”). For which, have a look at Desmond Morris’ picture books, like **Gestures** or **Bodywatching**. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/13 "2006-12-20T13:30:09Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] He suggests that the sticking-the-tongue-out gesture that acts as a juvenile rejection taunt is basically the same motion used by an infant rejecting food being forced in by its mother (in pre-tech societies, this wouldn’t be Gerber Strained Whatever, but food chewed up by Mom and essentially spit into the baby’s mouth. In other words, it’s an infantile rejection sign, and the one used by older kids is the same rejection mechanism used in more general circumstances. [/QUOTE] I’ve read the same - although it was in the context of the infant pushing out the mother’s breast/nipple after feeding. Grim ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/14 "2006-12-20T14:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] He suggests that the sticking-the-tongue-out gesture that acts as a juvenile rejection taunt is basically the same motion used by an infant rejecting food being forced in by its mother (in pre-tech societies, this wouldn’t be Gerber Strained Whatever, but food chewed up by Mom and essentially spit into the baby’s mouth. In other words, it’s an infantile rejection sign, and the one used by older kids is the same rejection mechanism used in more general circumstances. [/QUOTE] That’s actually pretty brilliant. I’ll also add, completely from Anecdote Land, that caregivers tend to laugh when that happens, and mimic the baby’s action, often with a “bleh!” sound. As the kid gets older, many people use the “bleh”/tongue out combo to warn kids away from the garbage can, the open dishwasher, the open diaper with a wad of feces in it, the gum on the sidewalk or other “gross and dirty” stuff. We effectively teach them that tongue out = “gross and dirty and don’t touch”. It doesn’t seen surprising that they then start using it in day care or preschool to mean, “You’re gross and nasty and I don’t want to touch (play with) you!” As we get older, of course, it become ridiculous and/or sexualized. At that point, it becomes funny to use it ironically - as in an argument with your cubicle neighbor over the Bulls game last night. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/15 "2006-12-20T14:38:26Z")
Just goes to show: If you want to say “Nuts to you” without speaking, there’s only one way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/16 "2006-12-20T14:42:40Z")
By the way, it occurs to me that I read that tidbit in the appropriately-named **The Origin of Table Manners** by Levi-Straus ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/17 "2006-12-20T14:56:30Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] As the kid gets older, many people use the “bleh”/tongue out combo to warn kids away from the garbage can, the open dishwasher, the open diaper with a wad of feces in it, the gum on the sidewalk or other “gross and dirty” stuff. We effectively teach them that tongue out = “gross and dirty and don’t touch”. [/QUOTE] Hence, the effectiveness of [Mr. Yuk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Yuk). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/18 "2006-12-20T16:13:22Z")
[QUOTE=Captain\_C] It is a childish/playful way of saying “nuts to you!” [/QUOTE] And the standard third-grade reply to someone sticking out their tongue at you is, “No thanks, I use toilet paper.” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/19 "2006-12-20T16:17:39Z")
By the way, the “sticking out the tongue” gesture used by ancient symbols such as he Gorgon, Kirtimukkha, Bes, Rahu, Rangda, Tiki, Tonatiuh, Mixtecuhtli, and others has , I believe, a completely different meaning and origin. An entire chapter of a book by someone I greatly admire was devoted to this. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895/20 "2006-12-20T17:27:03Z")
[QUOTE=Quasimodem] I think the OP was going for the “why” of the tongue, rather than say, that hand on the crook of the elbow thing which seems to convey the same meaning? (“Nuts to you”, I mean) I don’t have the answer to this interesting question, but just wanted to clarify its intent a bit. I hope that _is_ what you meant? Q [/QUOTE] I originally meant, literally, what it means. Does it mean a phrase (such as “fuck you”) or something milder “you’re a poopy face.” Or is it a purely dismissive gesture that doesn’t translate directly into words? But, now that I read the discussion, “why the tongue?” becomes very interesting! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-sticking-your-tongue-out-at-someone-mean/384895.md?page=2)