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A popular story told to Israeli Defense Army soldiers who serve at checkpoints is of this gesture: https://i.ibb.co/ZBJSY1c/image.png https://i.ibb.co/ZBJSY1c/i

by dutzi 5y ago

A popular story told to Israeli Defense Army soldiers who serve at checkpoints is of this gesture: https://i.ibb.co/ZBJSY1c/image.png https://i.ibb.co/ZBJSY1c/image.png Apparently, in Italy it sort-of means "go f*ck yourself" (for Italian hnewers, this means "please wait" for the rest of the world). The story tells about a soldier who once did that gesture to a car carrying some Italian politician, on their way to the West Bank. Don't remember the rest of the story now, but it did not end well.

silvanocerza 5y ago
> Apparently, in Italy it sort-of means "go f*ck yourself" No, it doesn't. It has lots of meanings but the main one could be summed up to "what?". EDIT: This means "go fuck yourself" in Italy. That's Alberto Sordi by the way. https://blog.ilgiornale.it/furlan/files/2018/09/Vaffanculo.jpg https://blog.ilgiornale.it/furlan/files/2018/09/Vaffanculo.j...
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  >It has lots of meanings but the main one could be summed up to "what?". my experience - although based on neapolitan usage - is more WTF!?!
  - silvanocerza 5y ago
    That too, it also depends on the facial expression. :)
- MisterTea 5y ago
  Growing up in a neighborhood that was heavily Italian, I frequently experienced that gesture with my friend after we did something dumb at his house and got in trouble. Either his parents or grandmother would have their hands up in that pinched gesture, shaking them at you while yelling something like "Why in gods name would you two smash [friends sister] toys, put them in dog shit, set them on fire and throw them on the garage roof? Get up there and clean that god damn mess up! And you [me] go home." So yeah, saw that gesture frequently.
mkotowski 5y ago
> for Italian hnewers, this means "please wait" for the rest of the world Central Europe here, I doubt this gesture would be understood here that way. The closest meaningful gesture would be demanding money (if the thumb would move along the index finger).
- _ZeD_ 5y ago
  that is a totally different gesture (and with the same meaning in italy)
- tspiteri 5y ago
  It depends on the hand motion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZk5rAVuNsc&t=15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZk5rAVuNsc&t=15s
garblegarble 5y ago
>this means "please wait" for the rest of the world In UK+Ireland I don't think anybody would understand anything from that gesture (certainly to everybody I've just surveyed) Here, "please wait" would be a palm held up flat, without the fingers/thumb spread ("stop", which would be what I'd expect at an official checkpoint) or the more polite informal version, a raised hand towards the person with index finger raised and usually with a nod (this is what I'd expect at a restaurant or an office for "I see you but I'm busy right now")
- zeckalpha 5y ago
  I read that as the gesture literally means “go f*ck yourself” in Italian, which in Italian is a relatively mild way of saying “please wait”, not that the rest of the world would use the gesture for “please wait”.
gvv 5y ago
>(for Italian hnewers, this means "please wait" for the rest of the world). I would really like to know, out of curiosity, at least 1 country where it means "please wait", I've never encountered it before.
alberto_ol 5y ago
Only in Israel I saw that gesture with the meaning "please wait" and israeli people who travel a lot told me that is only a israeli thing. The italian gesture is slightly different and, as others have already written, doesn't mean "go f*ck yourself".

by dutzi 5y ago

silvanocerza 5y ago

> Apparently, in Italy it sort-of means "go f*ck yourself" No, it doesn't. It has lots of meanings but the main one could be summed up to "what?". EDIT: This means "go fuck yourself" in Italy. That's Alberto Sordi by the way. https://blog.ilgiornale.it/furlan/files/2018/09/Vaffanculo.jpg https://blog.ilgiornale.it/furlan/files/2018/09/Vaffanculo.j...

bryanrasmussen 5y ago
>It has lots of meanings but the main one could be summed up to "what?". my experience - although based on neapolitan usage - is more WTF!?!
- silvanocerza 5y ago
  That too, it also depends on the facial expression. :)
MisterTea 5y ago
Growing up in a neighborhood that was heavily Italian, I frequently experienced that gesture with my friend after we did something dumb at his house and got in trouble. Either his parents or grandmother would have their hands up in that pinched gesture, shaking them at you while yelling something like "Why in gods name would you two smash [friends sister] toys, put them in dog shit, set them on fire and throw them on the garage roof? Get up there and clean that god damn mess up! And you [me] go home." So yeah, saw that gesture frequently.

mkotowski 5y ago

> for Italian hnewers, this means "please wait" for the rest of the world Central Europe here, I doubt this gesture would be understood here that way. The closest meaningful gesture would be demanding money (if the thumb would move along the index finger).

_ZeD_ 5y ago
that is a totally different gesture (and with the same meaning in italy)
tspiteri 5y ago
It depends on the hand motion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZk5rAVuNsc&t=15s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZk5rAVuNsc&t=15s

garblegarble 5y ago

>this means "please wait" for the rest of the world In UK+Ireland I don't think anybody would understand anything from that gesture (certainly to everybody I've just surveyed) Here, "please wait" would be a palm held up flat, without the fingers/thumb spread ("stop", which would be what I'd expect at an official checkpoint) or the more polite informal version, a raised hand towards the person with index finger raised and usually with a nod (this is what I'd expect at a restaurant or an office for "I see you but I'm busy right now")

zeckalpha 5y ago
I read that as the gesture literally means “go f*ck yourself” in Italian, which in Italian is a relatively mild way of saying “please wait”, not that the rest of the world would use the gesture for “please wait”.

gvv 5y ago

>(for Italian hnewers, this means "please wait" for the rest of the world). I would really like to know, out of curiosity, at least 1 country where it means "please wait", I've never encountered it before.

alberto_ol 5y ago

Only in Israel I saw that gesture with the meaning "please wait" and israeli people who travel a lot told me that is only a israeli thing. The italian gesture is slightly different and, as others have already written, doesn't mean "go f*ck yourself".