My logophile friend asked if I would ask you wordcrafters about a gesture meaning "shame on you!" I hadn't seen it, but he says it is made by pointing your left index finger at the culprit, and then repeatedly stroking the left finger with your right index finger, like whittling a stick. He wondered if it were a British gesture. Have any of you seen it?

Yes, I know that gesture, though I don't remember the last time I saw it used. It was a common gesture when I was growing up. There is a book ... I think it is by Roger Axtell ... about common gestures and what they mean in different cultures. See this site for the "shame on you" gesture.

Tinman

Very American, I think. I've never seen it used, but I grew up seeing it depicted in the cartoons in Mad magazine. Al Jaffee, in particular, if I recall. I can't remember if I've ever seen it anywhere else, in fact.

I've heard of the gesture but it isn't a British thing. I've never seen anyone make it.

I agree, it's certainly not British. I'd never heard of it before reading this thread.

We used to use that gesture all the time, but I've not seen it in years.

Well, thanks, everyone. I hadn't heard of this gesture; it must be a regional one. Does anyone know how gestures get started, anyway? When we had that consultant in to teach us about the Jordanian culture, I was so surprised to learn how different cultures use the very same gestures to mean very different things.

There are several books on this topic, the one by Desmond Morris entitled "Bodytalk: The Meaning of Human Gestures" makes much of the regional variations of gestures.

I was so surprised to learn how different cultures use the very same gestures to mean very different things.

There's a study called kinesics (study of gestures) closely related to proxemics (the study of how people place each other when speaking). I'd say they're both branches of anthropology or anthropological linguistics. Makes sense to me thought the variety of meanings from a limited repetoire. Sort of like how we use similar sounds as the French or Italians and come up with an entirely different language.

There is a condition called "dyssemia," a learning disability, where people have an inability to read non-verbal messsages; they have a poor sense of personal space; and they misinterpret facial expressions or the emotional quality of the voice.

I see this "poor sense of personal space" when I am in my aerobics class. People often stand really close to others, even when there is plenty of room to spread out. I especially am very sensitive to that or when people get really close to me when they talk. In the latter case, I always find myself backing up and backing up until I hit the wall!

Quote "...In the latter case, I always find myself backing up and backing up until I hit the wall!..."

Maybe that's because of your British ancestry! The British, especially the English, have a fairly large personal area compared with other Europeans and the sight of Britons backing away from Italians at cocktail parties is not uncommon.

One reason why I always wear my spectacles at parties is that I otherwise have to stand too close to people so as to be able to see them clearly, thus entering their personal space and causing them discomfort.

There's another term for the study of gesture (at least in the context of rhetoric): chironomy (< Greek kheironomia 'literally, law of the hand'.