Awkward turtle: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m MOS |
Entranced98 (talk | contribs) Importing Wikidata short description: "Slang hand gesture" |
||
| (41 intermediate revisions by 36 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Slang hand gesture}} |
|||
<!-- 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]] --> |
||
[[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]] |
||
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; and awkward |
'''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> |
||
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> |
|||
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. |
||
==Example usages== |
|||
{{Quote |
|||
|text="This wonderful, clumsy, candid moment, where even the crown's mighty power could not conquer the '''Awkward Turtle''' God. Royals, they're finally just like us!" |
|||
|author=Elise Taylor, Vogue <ref name="Vogue">{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Elise|title=Prince Charles and Queen Letizia's Handshake Proves Even Royals Can't Escape Awkward Hellos|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/prince-charles-queen-letizia-state-visit-handshake|website=Vogue|accessdate=15 January 2015}}</ref> |
|||
}} |
|||
{{Quote |
|||
|text="I got that feeling especially when she told me I had on the same outfit she saw me in in a picture on Facebook. It was one of those '''awkward turtle''' moments. I knew she creeped on my profile." |
|||
|author=Sophomore economics student at Ball State University <ref>{{cite web|last1=Horne|first1=Kenneth|title=A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Social Media Literacy and Identity Influence: Traditional-Age Undergraduate Students and Their Experiences with Social Media|url=http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/197163/HorneK_2013-2_BODY.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|website=Ball State University, Cardinal Scholar|accessdate=15 January 2018}}</ref> |
|||
}} |
|||
==History== |
==History== |
||
| ⚫ | A student journalist reported on the ubiquitousness of the awkward turtle hand gesture at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] on 3 February 2006.<ref name="BrownDailyHerald"/> By 2008, Facebook reportedly had more than 500 "awkward turtle" groups, the largest of which had more than 27,000 members.<ref name="ColumbiaNewsService" /> "[[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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barrett|first1=Grant|last2=Barnette|first2=Martha|title=Awkward Turtle Slang|url=https://www.waywordradio.org/awkward-turtle-slang/ |date=October 10, 2009 |website=WayWordRadio}}</ref> |
||
[[Urban Dictionary]]'s "top definition" for awkward turtle (as of January 2018) was a definition post on 6 September 2005—that definition also appears to be the oldest one for "awkward turtle" on Urban Dictionary.<ref name="UrbanDictionary" /> |
|||
| ⚫ | A student journalist reported on the ubiquitousness of the awkward turtle hand gesture at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] on 3 February 2006.<ref name="BrownDailyHerald"/> By 2008, Facebook reportedly had more than 500 "awkward turtle" groups, the largest of which had more than 27,000 members.<ref name="ColumbiaNewsService" /> |
||
"[[A Way with Words]]", a public radio program about language, did a segment on "awkward turtle" on 10 October 2009, citing it as slang from [[UCLA]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barrett|first1=Grant|last2=Barnette|first2=Martha|title=Awkward Turtle Slang|url=https://www.waywordradio.org/awkward-turtle-slang/|website=WayWordRadio}}</ref> |
|||
According to an Urban Dictionary five year snapshot (July 2012 and November 2017) of activity regarding "active turtle", activity peaked in early 2013, with February 2013 having the highest activity of all months in that span.<ref name="UrbanDictionary">{{cite web|title=Awkward Turtle|url=https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=awkward%20turtle|website=Urban Dictionary|accessdate=15 January 2018}}</ref> |
|||
== References == |
== References == |
||
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.