History Main / MemeticHandGesture

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': [[JediMindTrick These are not the droids you're looking for.]] (Waves hand once.)
** Vader's force choke, too.
* ''Franchise/TheMatrix'': BringIt.

* UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's [[https://outline-prod.imgix.net/20170424-0us2Ytc6WP3NndATExff?auto=format&q=60&w=1000&s=a0a589663afdf6a1862593821c640cc8 habit of making the "ok" hand gesture as he speaks]] has become this. It's common for his supporters to pose for pictures while making the same gesture. Because of this, there are those who see it as a racist/white supremacist gesture, [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and we're not interested in the details about that]].

* The military salute, a flat palm held at the brim of one's hat. In Britain, the palm is turned up, except for the Navy, where it's turned down.

* Creator/LeonardNimoy adopted the famous Vulcan Salute, along with its greets "Live long and prosper" and "Peace and long life" from the Priestly Blessing, a part of the Jewish service.

** The international symbol of [[HeavyMetal Metal]]. Ronnie James Dio credited himself as the originator of the gesture in this context, taken from his grandmother's gypsy ward against evil.

* UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's [[https://outline-prod.imgix.net/20170424-0us2Ytc6WP3NndATExff?auto=format&q=60&w=1000&s=a0a589663afdf6a1862593821c640cc8 habit of making the "ok" hand gesture as he speaks]] has become this. It's common for his supporters to pose for pictures while making the same gesture.

** The University of Houston, nicknamed Cougars, where this gesture represents "The Cougar Paw".

* The Thumbs-Up gesture, usually taken to show agreement or approval.

* "Air quotes". Holding both hands up with the index and middle fingers extended, then flexed when saying a specific word to emulate quotation marks. Sometimes used to [[SarcasmMode denote sarcasm]] over what you're saying.

* Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog's FingerWag.

* Donald Trump's [[https://outline-prod.imgix.net/20170424-0us2Ytc6WP3NndATExff?auto=format&q=60&w=1000&s=a0a589663afdf6a1862593821c640cc8 habit of making the "ok" hand gesture as he speaks]] has become this. It's common for his supporters to pose for pictures while making the same gesture.

* Leonard Nimoy adopted the famous Vulcan Salute, along with its greets "Live long and prosper" and "Peace and long life" from the Priestly Blessing, a part of the Jewish service.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames'': The King's 'mah boi' pose, where he points his finger upwards and has his eyes and mouth very wide open.
** [[BeamMeUpScotty Of course, when he actually says it, he's just finished drinking out of his chalice and never actually does the gesture as he's saying "my boy"]].

* Leonard Nimoy cribbed the famous Vulcan Salute from the Priestly Blessing, a part of the Jewish service.

** Ash turning his cap when he catches a Pokeball. It went missing for several years but ''Best Wishes'' brought it back.

* Similarly associated with the military is the "Knife Hand", where one points with the entire hand (almost as if one were about to karate chop someone).

* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/GendoGlasses.jpg Gendo Ikari]] of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. His trademark covering-the-mouth variant (which, originally, [[RealLifeWritesThePlot existed to cover his mouth]] and [[NoBudget cut down on necessary animation]]) is often called "[[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-gendo-pose the Gendo pose]]". For a while, it was a popular imageboard pastime to add the "Gendo Hands" to existing works via Photoshop.

[[folder: Theater]]

* "Air quotes"

* Revolver Ocelot of ''Franchise/MetalGear'', honorary TropeNamer. His famous two hand gun salute was originally improvised by his motion capture actor; the directors decided to ThrowItIn, because they couldn't get enough of it. It's so memetic he [[spoiler:uses his last breath to repeat the gesture in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'']].

* ''Webconic/{{Homestuck}}'' has Jake's "Double pistols and a wink" pose, as well as Bro's[[spoiler:/Dirk's]] [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo1axuoRLI1qafrh6.jpg thumbs down pose.]]

** The cuckold's horns. Holding your hand in this fashion behind someone's head, especially for a picture, is a prank implying that someone is sleeping with the person's wife. Occasionally a V-sign is used instead, especially in America, where it's called "Bunny Ears" and carries no cuckold implications.
*** The "Hook 'em, Horns" gesture is known as the ''cornuto'' in Italy, and carries the same major implications as the cuckold's horns, leading to trouble for Texas Longhorns fans who travel there.
** The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-finger_salute_(Serbian) Serbian three-finger salute]], consisting of the thumb, index finger, and middle finger upraised (and typically spread apart). A traditional symbol of Serbian nationalism, it's thus ''extremely'' provocative among Croats, Bosniaks, and Kosovar Albanians. This can lead to trouble for Vanderbilt Commodores fans who travel to those areas, as that fanbase uses the same gesture (fingers always spread apart) to represent "VU" (Vanderbilt University).

** "Hook'em horns" used by fans of the University of Texas, most notably the school's American football team. It is a stylized version of the school's mascot, the Longhorn.

* Texas A&M has the "Gig'em" sign, basically a Thumbs-Up gesture meant to represent sticking (gigging) something (a horned frog, the mascot of TCU, an old rival) with a sharp stick.

*** The "hook'em horns" gesture is known as the ''cornuto'' in Italy, and carries the same major implications as the cuckold's horns, leading to trouble for Texas Longhorns fans who travel there.

* The Christian "Sign of the Cross", which goes: Forehead, stomach, left shoulder, right shoulder (Right-to-Left in the Eastern Orthodox churches). Aside from the obvious geometrical shape of the Cross, the points correspond to the prayer that goes with it: "In the name of the Father (head = knowledge/thought) and of the Son (womb = son) and of the Holy Spirit (arms = empowerment)." A number of [[UsefulNotes/ThePope popes]] have also held that the downward motion is indicative of Jesus' descent from Heaven to Earth, with a number of interpretations for the right-to-left/left-to-right motion.

* The "Be Seeing You" gesture from ''Series/ThePrisoner''.