Even more gestures

I like gestures because they tell you about character and they tell you about culture. I have already mentioned the most famous French gesture, the Gallic shrug, how to silently tell people you are fed up, and how to ask for silence. Have a look at the 29th and 30th January.

Today I want to describe the gesture if you want to suggest someone may be drunk. Make a loose fist and act as if you were trying to grab an imaginary extension to your nose and then twist it. There you have it. You can now describe drunkards in French without saying a word.

One more gesture is to tell someone that they are lying. Take your index finger and pull down the skin under your eye. You can say mon oeil to mean that the person is lying. I understand that 'my eye' is also an English expression that means the same thing, but the only time I have heard it was to explain the French gesture. Still I am sure that some people use it. Perhaps I have lived a very sheltered life and nobody has ever lied to me!

A bientôt