The Greek Hand

My wife said that she saw Troy talking to one of the other babies today, diligently expressing himself with his hands. I started laughing, remembering an episode from when we were in Greece. Troy and I were waiting in a clothing store, waiting for my wife and mother-in-law to finish shopping, and we looked through the window across the street and saw a barber shop. In the first chair there was a man sitting waiting to have his hair cut, and the barber was talking to him, presumably about the style he should go with. However, the barber was very close to the man's ear and gesticulating wildly and very adamantly with his hand, like the man owed him money, and he was describing what would happen to him if he didn't pay. He kept making the same motion with his hand over and over again. I call this The Greek Hand.

To understand The Greek Hand, imagine someone with all of their fingers pressed against their thumb (I picture a goose hand) and their wrist bent with the hand and fingers pointing back at themselves. And then picture someone shaking their entire arm and hand in quick, jerking gestures. I have only ever seen men doing The Greek Hand, but I have seen it all over the place as a way for them to express themselves and emphasize their point. There is a similar variation in Italy as well.

So, when my wife was telling me the story about my son narrating his trip to Greece to another baby, I pictured him doing it with The Greek Hand, and I can't stop laughing.