Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

One little tip you find in lists of do's and dont's for visitors to Greece is to avoid making any gestures that involve displaying the palm of the hand, for fear of this being interpreted as the "moutza".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moutza

I notice that here in Cyprus drivers generally hold up their hand for a few seconds with the palm pointing outwards very much as British people do in order to thank other drivers for letting them move out onto the main road etc. This surely resembles the moutza, which makes me wonder if this gesture is used or recognised here. I can't say I have ever seen a Greek Cypriot make this gesture as an insult.

[DT.]

We do, accompanied by yelling NA! at the person on the receiving end. We also have the double mountza when the palm of the other hand hits the back of the offending one as if to push the mountza harder at the idiot you are targetting.

[tessintrnc]

In Turkey, circling your thumb and forefinger does not mean "OK" it means homosexual................

Tess

[denizaksulu]

One little tip you find in lists of do's and dont's for visitors to Greece is to avoid making any gestures that involve displaying the palm of the hand, for fear of this being interpreted as the "moutza".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moutza

I notice that here in Cyprus drivers generally hold up their hand for a few seconds with the palm pointing outwards very much as British people do in order to thank other drivers for letting them move out onto the main road etc. This surely resembles the moutza, which makes me wonder if this gesture is used or recognised here. I can't say I have ever seen a Greek Cypriot make this gesture as an insult.

This open handed gesture, with the fingers spread open and thrust forward, allegedly signifies the target that they have five fathers. Meaning .......you can guess. Do GCs give it the same meaning too? or has the real meaning been lost in time? yet still do it without realising its origin?

[DT.]

One little tip you find in lists of do's and dont's for visitors to Greece is to avoid making any gestures that involve displaying the palm of the hand, for fear of this being interpreted as the "moutza".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moutza

I notice that here in Cyprus drivers generally hold up their hand for a few seconds with the palm pointing outwards very much as British people do in order to thank other drivers for letting them move out onto the main road etc. This surely resembles the moutza, which makes me wonder if this gesture is used or recognised here. I can't say I have ever seen a Greek Cypriot make this gesture as an insult.

This open handed gesture, with the fingers spread open and thrust forward, allegedly signifies the target that they have five fathers. Meaning .......you can guess. Do GCs give it the same meaning too? or has the real meaning been lost in time? yet still do it without realising its origin?

just take it to mean you f*****g idiot.

[denizaksulu]

One little tip you find in lists of do's and dont's for visitors to Greece is to avoid making any gestures that involve displaying the palm of the hand, for fear of this being interpreted as the "moutza".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moutza

I notice that here in Cyprus drivers generally hold up their hand for a few seconds with the palm pointing outwards very much as British people do in order to thank other drivers for letting them move out onto the main road etc. This surely resembles the moutza, which makes me wonder if this gesture is used or recognised here. I can't say I have ever seen a Greek Cypriot make this gesture as an insult.

This open handed gesture, with the fingers spread open and thrust forward, allegedly signifies the target that they have five fathers. Meaning .......you can guess. Do GCs give it the same meaning too? or has the real meaning been lost in time? yet still do it without realising its origin?

just take it to mean you f*****g idiot.

Thats not very nice. We say 'Bilmukabele'.

[Nikitas]

It is more complicated than just "fucking idiot". It is a mix of a curse and an insult telling the other person they are totally unworthy. As far as I know it has no sexual connotations, unlike other gestures, therefore it is more acceptable than the middle finger type of gesture.

[Oracle]

Does it mean "in your face" .... "sta moutra sou" ..... or is that something else altogether.

.... also what does "stravalle" mean ... (I don't want to ask anyone that I know).

[Sega]

The guesture is intended as an insult and is not normally taken any other way. It makes the other person feel humiliated and stupid. It's not a nice thing to do to somebody, and I don't feel it can be done as a joke. People in Cyprus do this guesture, but like I say, it's offensive, so people only do it when somebody is an arsehole.

Does it mean "in your face" .... "sta moutra sou" ..... or is that something else altogether. Confused
.... also what does "stravalle" mean ... (I don't want to ask anyone that I know).

Emm.. do you live in Cyprus?

[Oracle]

The guesture is intended as an insult and is not normally taken any other way. It makes the other person feel humiliated and stupid. It's not a nice thing to do to somebody, and I don't feel it can be done as a joke. People in Cyprus do this guesture, but like I say, it's offensive, so people only do it when somebody is an arsehole.

Does it mean "in your face" .... "sta moutra sou" ..... or is that something else altogether. Confused
.... also what does "stravalle" mean ... (I don't want to ask anyone that I know).

Emm.. do you live in Cyprus?

Yes ... I have seen it performed (never been at the receiving end yet ) ... but it's not the sort of thing you bring up during the morning coffee chat session

Tell me please!