Snap, Crackle, Pop

May 15, 2015 8:49 AM

I'd like to know how to do a particular type of hand gesture. It's a casual gesture of conclusion, sort of like dusting off your hands. In this gesture, one hand falls into the other generating a little percussive sequence like snapping your fingers, cracking your knuckles and clapping your hands all in close succession. It only takes about a second to execute. Does this type of gesture have a name? Can you help me deconstruct the motions?
posted by Jeff Howard to Human Relations (18 answers total)

Do you have a video?
posted by pretentious illiterate at 8:54 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

It sounds like something I saw Curly do numerous times during The Three Stooges.
It was always at the end of a speech, movement or comeback to Moe or Larry.
Without a video of this gesture, we all might just be shooting in the dark.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 8:56 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

I think I know what you're talking about: it's a quick motion consisting of snapping the fingers of the left hand, snapping the fingers of the right hand, and then dropping the open right palm onto the side of the curled left fist, producing three snapping/clapping noises in rapid succession (reverse the handed-ness if it's easier that way).
posted by letourneau at 9:01 AM on May 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think I know what you mean. I do it too.

Snap fingers of right hand
Snap fingers of left hand
Slap palm of right hand on fist formed by left hand

but do this all quickly

bonus points: finish sequence with double barrel finger pointing at the other person: ta da!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:03 AM on May 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

Slap palm of right hand on fist formed by left hand

Keep the fist loose, slapping directly over the hole formed by your thumb and forefinger. The hollow space in the fist will give the slap a little volume and depth, like a hollow drum.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:08 AM on May 15, 2015 [2 favorites]

You can give it a little extra dzudzh by performing it three times in quick succession, but on the third iteration, repeat the final slap-pop three times, so the rhythm sounds like "diddly-bop, diddly-bop, diddly-bop-bop-bop".
posted by Rock Steady at 9:19 AM on May 15, 2015

Yeah, I think of it as coming from The Three Stooges, the thing Curly would do a few times before playing his throat. For me, the top (open) hand snaps a little before the bottom (closed) hand and then they slap together. It's a single version of the thing here if I know what you mean.
posted by yerfatma at 9:37 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. The video from yerfatma at :20 has the "little extra dzudzh" but it's essentially what I'm talking about.
posted by Jeff Howard at 9:54 AM on May 15, 2015

Robert Downey Jr. does this in the Iron Man movies - I'm specifically remembering IM2, when he's looking at the model of the Expo site in his lab and he's asking J.A.R.V.I.S. to make a computer model of it. He snaps fingers on his left hand, then his right, then drops his right fist into his left palm. I believe he does it the first time he's on the bridge in the first Avengers movie, too - right after he points out "THAT man is playing Galaga! He thought we would't notice!!" I could watch RDJ all damn day.
posted by ersatzkat at 9:54 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

Fun Fact: A more musical version can be performed on the black keys of a piano. I don't know if I can find a video.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:21 AM on May 15, 2015

rdj does it in other movies too i'm pretty sure - maybe 2 girls and a guy? maybe home for the holidays?
posted by nadawi at 10:24 AM on May 15, 2015

If you're a TV-watching American of a very certain age this is called the "Pinky Tuscadero" and ends with the pointer finger of the hand that snaps first extended towards the recipient of the gesture.
posted by nicwolff at 10:59 AM on May 15, 2015 [6 favorites]

Nthing snap right, snap left, slap palm of right onto fist formed by left -- all quickly.
posted by amaire at 12:10 PM on May 15, 2015

I do it all the time and learned it from Curly. Yerfatma's video has it.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2015

I think the Curly version is usually a more advanced version. You have to be able to snap at least two fingers on each hand. For me, I snap both ring fingers and middle fingers in immediate succession at a slightly offset time so as to get four separate snaps, then the hollow-fist palm pop.
posted by cmoj at 1:52 PM on May 15, 2015

rdj does it in other movies too i'm pretty sure - maybe 2 girls and a guy? maybe home for the holidays?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang?
posted by Rock Steady at 2:20 PM on May 15, 2015

You have to be able to snap at least two fingers on each hand.

You bastard. I'm barely able to snap my fingers without tripping over my feet so I was so happy with myself when I learned to do this. Now I'm going to get hurt trying to learn to snap multiple fingers on a hand.
posted by yerfatma at 4:27 PM on May 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

If memory serves, Cameron did this in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I think while they were at the stock market.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 5:22 AM on May 16, 2015 [1 favorite]