41–48 of 48 posts
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Il gesto dell'ombrello :D https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesto_dell%27ombrello
Albertone in a thread about Italian hand-gestures, there's nothing more Italian than this. Now, all that is missing is some link to a ragionier Fantozzi sketch.
Every time I rewatch the Sopranos, the "non me ne importa" gesture gets into my vocabulary for a while. (I think of it more as the "vaffanculo" gesture though, as it almost always accompanies this phrase in the show). It has this wonderful quality of vulgar, spiteful dismissal that we don't have a good expression for in English - although the somewhat common "jerk off" gesture is similar in intent, that one is pretty…
> Every time I rewatch the Sopranos Those are Americans, not Italians.
The hand gesture in question appears to be common to both "real" Italians and Italian-Americans as depicted in the show. Not sure what your point is.
Every time I rewatch the Sopranos, the "non me ne importa" gesture gets into my vocabulary for a while. (I think of it more as the "vaffanculo" gesture though, as it almost always accompanies this phrase in the show). It has this wonderful quality of vulgar, spiteful dismissal that we don't have a good expression for in English - although the somewhat common "jerk off" gesture is similar in intent, that one is pretty…
The fuck you want, a boutonniere?
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> Every time I rewatch the Sopranos Those are Americans, not Italians.
Thanks for the clarification, I hadn't realized. Was it their command of English that tipped you off, or the New Jersey scenery in the intro sequence? The hand gesture in question appears to be common to both "real" Italians and Italian-Americans as depicted in the show. Not sure what your point is.
The meaning of the pinched fingers is surprised interrogative, like "what?!" Or "wtf?!". Like "what are you doing here?" or "what do you mean?" It is very informal but doesn't imply profanity at all.
Sadly, all foreigners that have seen Sopranos tend to imitate the gesture and saying "vaffanculo!" which is just plain wrong.
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Albertone in a thread about Italian hand-gestures, there's nothing more Italian than this. Now, all that is missing is some link to a ragionier Fantozzi sketch.
Tipo questo? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJz5p5zrSP4
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Thanks for the clarification, I hadn't realized. Was it their command of English that tipped you off, or the New Jersey scenery in the intro sequence? The hand gesture in question appears to be common to both "real" Italians and Italian-Americans as depicted in the show. Not sure what your point is.
Not really. You've mentioned you associate the pinched fingers with vaffanculo but it's a "mistranslation" spread by Sopranos, because they're not actually first generation Italians. The meaning of the pinched fingers is surprised interrogative , like "what?!" Or "wtf?!". Like "what are you doing here?" or "what do you mean?" It is very informal but doesn't imply profanity at all. Sadly, all foreigners that have seen…
That said, when you say "pinched fingers", it makes me wonder if we're talking about the same gesture. The gesture from TFA labeled "non ne me importa" (English: I don't care) doesn't look like what I think of when I read "pinched fingers". "Pinched fingers" makes me picture the gesture shown on the cover of the book at the top of the article. (This is annoying to try to describe in plain text :) )
The gesture in the article doesn't demonstrate this, but the one I associate with "vaffanculo" (which sounds more like "vafungool" on the Sopranos) is a quick brush off the knuckles on the bottom of the chin outward. From some quick googling it does appear to have a mild offensive "get lost" type of meaning.
I'm actually probably mistakenly confusing it for the non ne me importa gesture, as the one I'm thinking of seems to usually be performed with the thumb out, unlike the one pictured.
Again, apologies for the snark. I'd rather learn something than gain internet dunk points. :)
A friend of mine from somewhere around Como has a gesture where she taps her upper arm with her index finger while making a theatrical pained expression. I have no idea what it represents or means. She usually does it while reacting to something she doesn't like, perhaps particularly being asked to go along with someone else's suggestion which she thinks will be arduous. It vaguely suggests someone shooting up heroin…
I tend to use with a meaning more nuanced towards "boring". What's going to happen is so extremely boring, that I'd better be sedated, high on drugs or the like in order to withstand it. I can see how the "drug" thing might shift the meaning to be: you must be high on drugs in order to suggest something this arduous.
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from a quick look at the first image of "Napolitan gestures" at least money, stealing and wait a moment are still largely in use. Horn sign that legend says RJ Dio introduced by simply flipping the way his grandmother did the gesture (we do it palm facing the floor, the metal one is palm facing the face) it's still very popular as a scaramantic gesture against bad luck.
Upwards and palm facing outwards was also common as an insult, but "cornuto" has become obsolete as am offense. We don't even say it to football referees anymore!
OP asked "Are all or most of these still in use today?" and I haven't heard "cornuto" in a long time.
It's been largely replaced (IMO) by the internationally acclaimed middle finger gesture.