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The Ultimate Body Language Book

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Montague’s servant Abraham. This traditional Sicilian gesture is performed today by placing the thumb<br />

behind the upper incisors and flicking the thumb forward toward the person you wish to insult. <strong>The</strong><br />

symbol means “To hell with you.” <strong>The</strong> thumbs down gesture would have meant death in Roman times<br />

for a gladiator, while the thumbs shooting off to the side is associated with a negative thought about<br />

someone we wish not to offer respect. It begins or ends a conversation such as “I told you about that<br />

guy over there (followed by thumbing in their direction) …he’s up to no good.” However, not all thumb<br />

gestures are negative as we see with the thumbs up gesture in western cultures.<br />

Thumb displays denote

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