UNESP

Don´t Give “A-OK” Sign in Tunisia – it´s a Death Threat

        Forming a circle with your thumb and forefinger means “A-Ok” in America. But do this in Tunisia and you could be in hot water – because there it menas “I´ll kill you!”

         Our “A-OK” sign also means “warthless” or  “zero” in France... and if you make this gesture in Japan, the Japanese will think you´re begging for money.

         Common gestures mean surprisingly different things in diferent cultures, according to world-famous antropologist Desmond Morris, author of the book “Manwatching”.

         “Sometimes when you´re making a normal, unconcious gesture you can get yourself in trouble if you don´t know  what you´re doing”, warns Morris.

         “During conversation it´s common for people to touch or pull at an earbole. But be careful about doing that in Italy – because if you´re talking to a man you´re making a big sexual insult.”

         Shaking your head from sirde to side means “no” in the U.S. But it means “yes” in Bulgaria and parts of Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.

         Different cultures also have their own gesture for the same thought, Morris added.

         For example, we signify a beautiful girl by making an exagggrtsted outline of the female figure with our hands. In Greece, however, a man gently strokes a cheek with one hand.