The Most Uncool Hand Gestures Uncovered

A new nationwide poll of Brits aged 18 to 29 has revealed that playing an imaginary guitar is the least cool hand gesture a person can make, with 38 percent of those polled claiming it was cringeworthy and old fashioned.

Following in close second place was giving the double thumbs up, with three in ten Gen Zs believing this gesture to be deeply uncool and a sign someone is over the hill.

Also, on the list of hand gestures which show someone’s age was the act of pretending to write a cheque in the air to indicate you want a bill in a restaurant, which leaves 29 percent of young Brits scratching their heads.

While 28 percent of the Gen Zs surveyed, by insights agency Perspectus Global, said that drinking a cup of tea with your pinky sticking out to try and be “posh” was really uncool in the modern age.

Doing a fist pump (19 percent) is also deemed a gesture that means you are old and do not think about raising your finger to your lips to get people to shhh, with one in five (19 percent) of young Brits claiming it is completely out of date.

While putting your thumb up as a sign of agreement and approval is a no-no for 19 percent of Gen Zs, as is doing a double “A-OK” sign with both hands (20 percent of youngsters deem this cringe)

Said Claudia Crosse of Perspectus Global: “It is fascinating to see which hand gestures are falling by the wayside, and which ones will make you seem uncool if you use them in front of younger Brits. However, hand gestures are constantly evolving, so it's not unfeasible to imagine that playing air guitar or doing a double thumbs up may one day come back in fashion."

The study also found that half (48 percent) of Brits believe that hand gestures are just as important as the words we speak when communicating.

And a whopping 90 percent said that hand gestures are constantly evolving, so ones that used to be very fashionable can end up making you look old fashioned and out of touch.

When it comes to long-standing hand gestures that Gen Zs still use, 87 percent think crossing your fingers secretly to tell a lie is acceptable, 85 percent sometimes use the ‘call me’ hand signal - with the thumb held near the ear and the little finger pointed at the mouth.