Moutza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A "
moutza", or mou
ntza, (μούντζα) or "faskeloma", "φασκέλωμα" is the most traditional gesture of insult among
Greeks which consists of extending all fingers and presenting the palm towards the to-be-insulted person in a forward motion. It is often coupled with the expletives "να" (
na), "παρ'τα" (
par'ta) or "όρσε" (
órse), meaning "here", "take these" and "there you go", respectively.
An even more offensive version is achieved by using both hands to double the gesture, smacking the palm of one hand against the back of the other, in the direction of the intended recipient. The closer the gesture is to the other person's face the more threatening it's considered.
If a Greek wants to hand-signal the number 5 to someone, they take care to face their palm towards themselves and the back of the hand towards the intended recipient of the signal, lest it be misunderstood for a "moutza".
A "minor" form of the moutza is the "
V-sign", again presented with a forward motion. This is not insulting as the full gesture is, and it is perceived as a "fake admonishment" joke, e.g. towards a mischievous child.
Closed moutza
A closed (or polite) moutza consists of keeping the tips of all five fingers together and pointing towards the targeted person. This gesture is usually accompanied by the preposition 'na!' (there!).
[1] Sometimes this gesture is completed with only three fingers being half opened (thumb, index and middle). Or the targeted person can be called upon to blow on the fingers in order to make them open into a full moutza. In this case it is accompanied by the imperative 'fisa!' (blow!).
