The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #161044   Message #3824285
Posted By: Thompson
03-Dec-16 - 01:18 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: Automatic Gestures
Subject: RE: Folklore: Automatic Gestures
Yeah, circling the index finger at the temple for 'cuckoo'.

Hm, if you could find a YouTube showing the sucking-teeth I'd be interested. There's a Japanese suck of air between top teeth and lower lip that means "Oh-my-goodness-I'd-love-to-help-but-that-would-be-awfully-awfully-difficult".

And again, back to the Aran Islands of the 1950s: the sound used to slow or stop a horse was a purr through the trembling lips that sounds like the kind of snort a horse makes. I think this sound is no longer used in Aran, though.

Another new thing is pointing upwards at the eyes with forked fingers, then pointing the forked fingers at someone, to mean "I'll be watching you". I first saw it in the film Meet the Parents and wondered if it was a Sicilian gesture.