Awkward turtle: Difference between revisions
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Entranced98 (talk | contribs) Importing Wikidata short description: "Slang hand gesture" |
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{{Short description|Slang hand gesture}} |
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{{Essay-like|date=July 2019}}<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Awkward turtle gesture.jpg|thumb|Awkward turtle hand gesture]] --> |
{{Essay-like|date=July 2019}}<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Awkward turtle gesture.jpg|thumb|Awkward turtle hand gesture]] --> |
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[[File:When in an awkward conversation or situation just make an awkward turtle.jpg|thumb|Awkward turtle hand gesture]] |
[[File:When in an awkward conversation or situation just make an awkward turtle.jpg|thumb|Awkward turtle hand gesture]] |
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'''Awkward turtle''' is a slang two-handed [[List of gestures|gesture]] used to silently mark a moment or situation as awkward. A number of spinoff hand gestures akin to the awkward turtle have since arisen (like the awkward palm tree, which even has its own [[Facebook]] page; awkward bell; awkward gong; awkward antlers; awkward tent; awkward turkey; and awkward turtle makes babies). The gesture is likely used in most cases playfully and ironically. Some have remarked that giving the gesture is a sort of celebration of social discomfort.<ref name="UniversidaddeAlicante">{{cite web |last=Victor |first=Terry |title=Unconventional English in a Conventional Setting: The Genesis and Joy of the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |url=https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/22607/1/Revista_Alicantina_de_Estudios_Ingleses_24_12.pdf7 |date=2011 |publisher=Universidad de Alicante |access-date=15 January 2018 |quote=In current wordless slang there is a significantly widespread trend for elaborate gestural constructs that signal an awkward silence or situation (‘this is an awkward situation – let’s get out of here/by recognising it we remain aloof’), epitomised by, yet not limited to, the awkward turtle gesture (which exists in a couple of distinct variations) and the awkward palm tree (which actually has its own FacebookTM page). This gesture is little more than an archly contrived in-group signalling: playful, certainly, probably ironic in intention, but in active circulation. The only way to gain a sufficient understanding of, say, the awkward turtle through the medium of a dictionary must be to see the gesture in action. |page=294 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="BrownDailyHerald">{{cite web |last=Stein |first=Andrew |title=If being awkward is cool, I'm Miles Davis |url= http://www.browndailyherald.com/2006/02/03/andrew-stein-06-if-being-awkward-is-cool-im-miles-davis/ |date=3 February 2006 |publisher=The Brown Daily Herald |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="MoUrban">{{cite book|last1=Peckham|first1=Aaron|title=Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=0740788922|page=12}}</ref> |
'''Awkward turtle''' is a slang two-handed [[List of gestures|gesture]] used to silently mark a moment or situation as awkward. A number of spinoff hand gestures akin to the awkward turtle have since arisen (like the awkward palm tree, which even has its own [[Facebook]] page; awkward bell; awkward gong; awkward antlers; awkward tent; awkward turkey; and awkward turtle makes babies). The gesture is likely used in most cases playfully and ironically. Some have remarked that giving the gesture is a sort of celebration of social discomfort.<ref name="UniversidaddeAlicante">{{cite web |last=Victor |first=Terry |title=Unconventional English in a Conventional Setting: The Genesis and Joy of the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English |url=https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/22607/1/Revista_Alicantina_de_Estudios_Ingleses_24_12.pdf7 |date=2011 |publisher=Universidad de Alicante |access-date=15 January 2018 |quote=In current wordless slang there is a significantly widespread trend for elaborate gestural constructs that signal an awkward silence or situation (‘this is an awkward situation – let’s get out of here/by recognising it we remain aloof’), epitomised by, yet not limited to, the awkward turtle gesture (which exists in a couple of distinct variations) and the awkward palm tree (which actually has its own FacebookTM page). This gesture is little more than an archly contrived in-group signalling: playful, certainly, probably ironic in intention, but in active circulation. The only way to gain a sufficient understanding of, say, the awkward turtle through the medium of a dictionary must be to see the gesture in action. |page=294 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="BrownDailyHerald">{{cite web |last=Stein |first=Andrew |title=If being awkward is cool, I'm Miles Davis |url= http://www.browndailyherald.com/2006/02/03/andrew-stein-06-if-being-awkward-is-cool-im-miles-davis/ |date=3 February 2006 |publisher=The Brown Daily Herald |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="MoUrban">{{cite book|last1=Peckham|first1=Aaron|title=Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined|date=1 January 2009|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=0740788922|page=12}}</ref> |
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The gesture is believed to have originally come from [[sign language]]. It |
The gesture is believed to have originally come from [[sign language]]. It is the common gesture for "turtle" and "tortoise" in [[Auslan]].<ref>{{cite web | title=sign for Tortoise | website=SignPlanet.net | url=http://www.signplanet.net/SubTools/SubSignSingle.asp?SignID=259}}</ref> The awkward turtle is gestured by placing one hand flat atop the other with both palms facing down, thumbs stuck out to the sides and rotating to look like flippers.<ref>{{cite web|title=ASL Sign for Sea Turtle|url=https://www.handspeak.com/word/search/index.php?id=6379|website=HandSpeak.com|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="ColumbiaNewsService">{{cite web |last=Leber |first=Jessica |title=Do the Awkward Turtle |url=http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2008-04-15/leber-awkwardturtle.html |work=Columbia News Service |date=15 April 2008 |publisher=Columbia Journalism School |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106124352/http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2008-04-15/leber-awkwardturtle.html |archive-date=6 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Claremont">{{cite web |last=Grate |first=Rachel |title=If I Were to Meet You Again |url=http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=passwords |work=Passwords |date=4 June 2012 |access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Coleman|first1=Julie|title=Global English Slang: Methodologies and Perspectives|date=10 January 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1317934768|page=42}}</ref> |
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The term "awkward turtle" has transcended the gesture and is sometimes just stated, without the gesture. |
The term "awkward turtle" has transcended the gesture and is sometimes just stated, without the gesture. |
Latest revision as of 12:53, 24 April 2024
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (July 2019) |
Awkward turtle is a slang two-handed gesture used to silently mark a moment or situation as awkward. A number of spinoff hand gestures akin to the awkward turtle have since arisen (like the awkward palm tree, which even has its own Facebook page; awkward bell; awkward gong; awkward antlers; awkward tent; awkward turkey; and awkward turtle makes babies). The gesture is likely used in most cases playfully and ironically. Some have remarked that giving the gesture is a sort of celebration of social discomfort.[1][2][3]
The gesture is believed to have originally come from sign language. It is the common gesture for "turtle" and "tortoise" in Auslan.[4] The awkward turtle is gestured by placing one hand flat atop the other with both palms facing down, thumbs stuck out to the sides and rotating to look like flippers.[5][6][7][8]
The term "awkward turtle" has transcended the gesture and is sometimes just stated, without the gesture.
History
[edit]A student journalist reported on the ubiquitousness of the awkward turtle hand gesture at the University of Pennsylvania on 3 February 2006.[2] By 2008, Facebook reportedly had more than 500 "awkward turtle" groups, the largest of which had more than 27,000 members.[6] "A Way with Words", a public radio program about language, cited it as slang from UCLA during a segment on "awkward turtle" on 10 October 2009.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Victor, Terry (2011). "Unconventional English in a Conventional Setting: The Genesis and Joy of the New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English". Universidad de Alicante. p. 294. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
In current wordless slang there is a significantly widespread trend for elaborate gestural constructs that signal an awkward silence or situation ('this is an awkward situation – let's get out of here/by recognising it we remain aloof'), epitomised by, yet not limited to, the awkward turtle gesture (which exists in a couple of distinct variations) and the awkward palm tree (which actually has its own FacebookTM page). This gesture is little more than an archly contrived in-group signalling: playful, certainly, probably ironic in intention, but in active circulation. The only way to gain a sufficient understanding of, say, the awkward turtle through the medium of a dictionary must be to see the gesture in action.
[permanent dead link] - ^ a b Stein, Andrew (3 February 2006). "If being awkward is cool, I'm Miles Davis". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Peckham, Aaron (1 January 2009). Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 0740788922.
- ^ "sign for Tortoise". SignPlanet.net.
- ^ "ASL Sign for Sea Turtle". HandSpeak.com. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ a b Leber, Jessica (15 April 2008). "Do the Awkward Turtle". Columbia News Service. Columbia Journalism School. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ^ Grate, Rachel (4 June 2012). "If I Were to Meet You Again". Passwords. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ Coleman, Julie (10 January 2014). Global English Slang: Methodologies and Perspectives. Routledge. p. 42. ISBN 1317934768.
- ^ Barrett, Grant; Barnette, Martha (October 10, 2009). "Awkward Turtle Slang". WayWordRadio.