Fig sign

Gesture name

read below

You clench your hand into a fist, inserting your thumb between the index and middle fingers. The remaining fingers are pressed tightly together.

What does it mean?
1. Mockery and contempt: You show that you treat the interlocutor or their words with disdain and wish to humiliate them.
2. Rude refusal: You demonstrate a decisive and offensive refusal of something without further explanation.
3."You get nothing": The gesture symbolises emptiness or a fig, meaning the complete absence of what the opponent is asking for.
4. Protection (in the past): Previously it was used as a charm against the evil eye and unclean forces. In modern Russian culture, the gesture is considered extremely rude and offensive.

Gesture Phases & Execution

Preparation: The right hand moves forward and upward along the vertical axis, with the palm in an open hand configuration and oriented to the left.
Pre-stroke: The arm is extended forward toward the recipient, with the hand in a fist configuration and oriented to the left.
Stroke: The arm is extended forward toward the recipient, with the hand in a fist configuration, wherein the thumb is placed against the middle finger and covered from above by the index finger; the hand is oriented to the left.
Post-stroke: The arm is extended forward toward the recipient, with the hand in a fist configuration, wherein the thumb is positioned between the index and middle fingers and projects forward toward the recipient; the palm is oriented to the left.
Retraction: The hand moves downward along the vertical axis, transitioning into an open hand configuration with all fingers extended and pointing downward; the palm is oriented to the left.