FRENCH GESTURES
1.To let people know that they need to be quiet, raise your index finger in the air. 2. Just cross your hands and move your thumbs around each other. It means someone is doing nothing and he is waiting for something to happen: "he is twiddling his thumbs". 3.To indicate that you are clever or that you realize the truth faster than anyone else, tap your nose with your index finger and say: "J'ai du nez, J'ai le nez fine ou J'ai du flair". 4. To indicate that something is great, fantastic, etc., stretch out your arm, make a thumbs up sign, and bring it down slightly, as if you are pounding in a nail in the air. At the same time, you can say:"Au poil!". 5. The "Gallic shrug" gesture means:It's not my fault, I don't know, I doubt it can be done or I don't really agree. Raise your shoulders; hold up your hands, palms out; stick out your lower lip; raise your eyebrows; and say "Moi, je n'y peux rien," "Moi, je n'en sais rien," "Alors là," or simply "Bof !" 6.To express your disbelief at what someone is telling you, use your index finger to pull down the skin under your eye and say, "Mon œil (in English "My foot!") 7. To say that someone is lazy, hold out your hand, pull on an imaginary hair growing out of it, and say, "Il a un poil dans la main." 8. To indicate that you need money or that something is expensive, hold out your hand with your fingers and thumb touching, and rub your thumb across your fingertips. The gesture itself will get the message across, but if you like, you can say "Du fric !" or "C'est pas donné !" 9. To say that someone is boring or irritating, fold your hand and use the back of your fingers to stroke up and down your cheek while saying :Quelle barbe! La barbe!Une vraie barbe! Ce que je me rase!Qu'est-ce qu'il (elle) est rasoir! 10. There are two ways to indicate that someone is crazy: Tap your index finger on your forehead or point your finger at your forehead and turn it like a screwdriver.You can also at the same time say: Say one of the following: Il est cinglé, il est dingue ou ça ne tourne pas rond 11. To brag about something or rile a friend, fold your hand, put it under your chin with your fingers touching your throat, rub your hand out past your chin, and say, "Bisque !"( in English "Neener neener!" or "Nyah nyah!") 12. The pied de nez gesture (thumbing your nose) is used to make fun of someone, usually behind his or her back.Hold one hand up with your thumb touching your nose and wiggle your fingers. 13. To indicate that someone is in trouble, hold up your hand, palm facing your chest, with your fingers loose, and shake it up and down rapidly while saying, "Aïe, aïe, aïe, aïe, aïe !" 14.To indicate that someone is drunk, the French say "Il a un verre dans le nez" or "Il a un coup dans le nez." Make a loose fist, hold it up in front of your nose, and twist your hand (as you would rev a motorcycle) while tilting your head the other way. 15.To indicate that you are fed up or that you've had it up to here with something, hold your hand up to your forehead as if shielding your eyes from the sun, and drag it across your forehead while saying : J'en ai ras le bol!, j'en ai marre !ou j'en ai assez ! 16.To indicate that you don't give a damn, bend your arm toward your shoulder several times, as if you are hitting your shoulder, while saying "Je m'en fous." 17. To say "Let's get the hell out of here," hold your hands out, palms down, and smack one hand down onto the other. Also known as « On se tire ». 18. To indicate that you don't want to continue whatever you are doing, cross your arms in front of your chest, hands up and palms out, then swing them down and out, while saying, "C'est fini."
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