What are rude gestures in different countries?
I was teaching my Adult Business English class here in Mexico City and I made a gesture to show that something was past tense and the whole class gasped. I asked ¿Que pasó? then I went on to explain again and made a gesture where I threw my thumb back behind me to indicate something was past tense.
Another gasp... so I asked the class what that meant and they said it's crudo or rude and the gesture means something similar to the middle finger.
So... umm... before I make other people here in Mexico gasp, what are some of the rude gestures you can think of?
I remember a time when I was in Italy and I whistled after a show... bad move. Oh... and the OK sign made with the hand... NOT OK in Italy.
10 Answers
This is bad in England. It does not mean 2.
It depends on which way round the hand is facing! One way it means 2 or peace and the other way...
In Latin countries, Dum dum da dum dum, tump tump, is very offensive (I know it's not a gesture but if you tap out the pattern you'll be in trouble.)
Nametaken omits to say which way round is which for the two-fingered salute. The back of the hand to the spectator is the rude one. Stop reading here if historic detail bores you.
The origin of the two-fingered salute is from the French King's decree (sorry can't remember which king) after the battle of Crécy in which the French knights suffered badly from the English archers. He ordered that all captive British archers should lose the first and middle fingers of their right hands, making it impossible to draw the arrow back. Ever after, English archers held up their two drawing fingers to show their contempt for this. As the years went by, this origin was mostly forgotten and the gesture now means (substituting a very mild word for what saluters often say or shout) "bother you".
In Poland
"Kozakiewicz's gesture" performed by Polish olympic champion Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz on July 30, 1980 to Russian spectators in the stadium during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The crowd supporting Soviet jumper Konstantin Volkov booed, hissed, jeered, and whistled during Kozakiewicz's spectacular performance. Having just secured his gold medal position, Kozakiewicz made the gesture in defiance to the Soviet crowd.
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In parts of the Middle East it is rude to show the sole of your shoe.
I know this to be true for Turkey and Saudi Arabia and there are probably more countries where this is true.
In the US we sometimes sit with one ankle propped on the other knee, do not sit like that in these places.
Shaking hands with a person of the opposite sex in some Middle Eastern countries is considered inappropriate.
This is bad in England. It does not mean 2.
In Costa Rica,
Remember the game usually adults teasing small kids "I got your nose"? The person doing the teasing would have a fist with their thumb between their index and middle fingers.
That hand shape is equal to the middle finger. I’m not sure about Mexico, but you may want to find out before teasing a kid about having their nose.
In Venezuela (not sure about other places), the same gesture used for OK in the US, if presented to the other person backwards, that is, with the "O" toward the receiving party, is pretty rude.
Another very rude gesture I think is much more international: Closed fist in the inside part of the other arm's elbow, and that arm bent also holding the fist closed, so that it wraps over the fist.
Oh there, I see Issabella put a picture of it. 
I wouldn't have dared.
Well I do know that the horn that you often hear around Mexico City Bam dah dah bum bum, dee bum is very rude= Chinga tu madre, cabron. Here in the us it is innocuous, it's shave and a haircut, two bits.
Heard it lots in the df
In Spain, it is rude to remove your shoes or go barefoot in front of people, even if you're in your own house. Thank Franco for this. He was very insistent (read dictatorial) about people being Roman Catholic, so if you removed your shoes inside, it was a good indicator that you were Muslim and that you'd be in big trouble very soon. That's not true anymore, but the tradition stuck.
