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Not universal, a few exceptions[1] : > There are several exceptions: in Greece, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria,[2] Albania, and Sicily a single nod of the head up (not

Not universal, a few exceptions[1] : > There are several exceptions: in Greece, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria,[2] Albania, and Sicily a single nod of the head up (not down) indicates a "no". Though for Bulgaria at least it seems it's shifting with many people who lived abroad at some point(myself included) and have picked up the correct/more universal form. Which makes it worse: Now no one really knows whether you mean yes or no... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nod_(gesture) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nod_(gesture)

dodobirdlord 6y ago
There's also the head bobble, common in south India, which looks a lot like an ongoing head shake but generally means something like ongoing agreement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble
- pessimizer 6y ago
  Referring to it as "ongoing agreement" reminds me of something I think of as the "confessional no." When addicts talk about their addiction, there's often a rhythmic shaking of the head from side to side like a continual "no," but that speeds up and slows down with some relationship to the grammar of the sentences used. You can probably make yourself do it by saying out loud: "When I was young, I thought I understood everything." It's like an ongoing disagreement.