What is this gesture named?

September 15, 2011 7:06 PM

I Know what "snook"is. Could you tell me what this gesture is named? With one's thumbs in one's ears wiggling one's fingers (and one's tongue in the air ...will you sing..something like na-na-na-nah-naaar?) What does it mean?
posted by mizukko to Writing & Language (21 answers total)

It's basically just a generic insult... it means... "you suck" or it's like laughing at someone. It's something only little kids would do (or an adult might jokingly do it to a kid, but it probably wouldn't happen between adults).

(Though I've never heard the term "snook", I'm basing this on your description)
posted by brainmouse at 7:11 PM on September 15, 2011

Oh, you were asking what it's named also... it doesn't have a name that I've ever heard.
posted by brainmouse at 7:12 PM on September 15, 2011

(oh, just looked up "snook", that seems to be a British term, though we have the gesture in the US too, we just don't have a name for it as far as I know)
posted by brainmouse at 7:18 PM on September 15, 2011

I think it also has a defiant "I win!" and/or "In your FACE" connotation, fwiw. Is it possibly just an over-the-top exaggerated version of sticking your tongue out at someone?

Now I can't get the image of Nellie Olson out of my head. Sigh.
posted by argonauta at 7:18 PM on September 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

It can also be a taunt meaning, "You can't catch me, even if you try!"
posted by tamitang at 7:19 PM on September 15, 2011

It seems that it indicates the long ears of an ass.
posted by TAP at 7:24 PM on September 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Cock a snook = thumb on nose, waggle fingers, apparently. No clue what the other thing is called.
posted by selfmedicating at 7:31 PM on September 15, 2011

To tease, to make fun of somebody.
posted by vincele at 7:32 PM on September 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think I've heard it called a "neener," or a "neener neener."
posted by Knappster at 7:34 PM on September 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

... and I think the accompanying sound is often "nyah, nyah", which I suppose could easily be construed as sounding like a donkey.
posted by TAP at 7:38 PM on September 15, 2011

yeah, that's the neener-neener face.
posted by gatorae at 8:19 PM on September 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

No name in Australia, though 'nyah nyah nya-nyaah nyaah' is the sound / song that goes with it. It's usually more playful than spiteful - 'I hereby make clear my contempt for your physical abilities, but please do try to catch me, as I shall run away and it will be tremendous fun for everybody.'

Occasionally, the gesture is performed behind a person's back - like a teacher - for the benefit of onlookers, a kind of exaggerated 'sticking out your tongue' to mock them. In these cases, there's no song. The trick is to put your hands down and return your face to normal just before the authority figure or target of ridicule turns around.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:04 PM on September 15, 2011 [2 favorites]

Thirding "neener", although I say "neener neener neener."
posted by gumtree at 9:19 PM on September 15, 2011

It is frequently accompanied by "nanny-nanny boo-boo", sometimes followed by "stick your head in doo-doo" or "you can't catch me".
posted by NoraReed at 10:04 PM on September 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you everyone,
http://www.google.co.jp/imgres?q=nyah+nyah&um=1&hl=ja&sa=N&rlz=1R2SKPB_jaJP334&tbm=isch&tbnid=SuGMNVrtgK4dlM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ihatethemedia.com/ron-reagan-jr-admits-father-was-the-smartest-man-in-the-world&docid=oL_VCNNLA5ykYM&w=275&h=253&ei=FthyTvWELsOQiAfxzo2hBg&zoom=1&biw=669&bih=235&iact=rc&dur=219&page=12&tbnh=104&tbnw=114&start=100&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:100&tx=49&ty=51

I found this site, and the gesture's name seems to be..nyah nyah??
I wish I could find its difinition on the web dictionary...I couln't find out"neener" as the gesture..sigh.
posted by mizukko at 10:13 PM on September 15, 2011

Clickable link.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 3:11 AM on September 16, 2011

"Nyah" and "neener" are what you say while making that gesture, but it's not really what the gesture is called, to me. (They're not in the dictionary because the whole point of them is to be nonsense sounds.) I've made that gesture myself but I have no word for it.

Without a better word, I would just say that a person doing that with their hands was taunting someone if I was writing it down. If I was speaking informally, I might say that they're making the "nyah nyah nuh-nyah nyah" gesture. If I was speaking with someone face to face I'd just make the hand sign.

(Snook is not a standard American term, if someone hadn't mentioned it in the thread I would not have known what it was at all.)
posted by tchemgrrl at 5:56 AM on September 16, 2011 [2 favorites]

In Lancashire (where my parents were from), this was also known as 'Making long bacon'. This article may cast further light.
posted by HarrysDad at 6:36 AM on September 16, 2011

I found this site, and the gesture's name seems to be..nyah nyah??
I wish I could find its difinition on the web dictionary...I couln't find out"neener" as the gesture..sigh.

I don't think you're going to find a definite, widely recognized word for what you're describing. This is just one of those nearly universal things that (almost) everyone understands, nobody really thinks about, and which has never been thoroughly documented.

Neener-neener and nyah-nyah are good candidates, but don't expect a right answer to this one.

It doesn't mean anything other than a non-verbal taunt.
posted by General Tonic at 7:30 AM on September 16, 2011

A snook is a kind of fish.
Nya-nya-nya
posted by fivesavagepalms at 7:33 AM on September 16, 2011

Yes, it is implying that somebody else is a donkey, or ass. See item 3 here.
posted by fish tick at 8:43 AM on September 16, 2011