secret handshake
4
7.2
- noun
:
saludo secreto
- During the meeting, they demonstrated their secret handshake to show their friendship.
- show you the secret handshake
- know the secret handshake
It becomes like a secret handshake or like a wink.
- It becomes like a secret handshake or like a wink.
Examples
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To become a member of the group, you must learn their secret handshake.
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The children giggled as they created their own secret handshake for their club.
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You know, there were secret handshakes and there was a time to meet up and there was free food and community meant a thing.
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Does that mean we're gonna have a secret handshake?
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I am not going to show you the secret handshake!
Fiction book (2001) -
Maybe if you just waited, a representative would knock on your door and teach you the secret handshake.
Fiction book (1999) -
They have a secret handshake.
-
It becomes like a secret handshake or like a wink.
-
" These honchos don't get the free lunch treatment, but they know the secret handshake.
Fiction book (2002) -
-Secret handshake.
Synonyms
1
9.0
A small sign that shows a private joke or secret
How Private
Surface Forms
Morphology
The combination of 'secret' (hidden) and 'handshake' (a greeting or identifying gesture) allows a learner to infer a concealed or special greeting used to verify identity. However, the technical computing sense (a protocol exchange for authentication) is a metaphorical domain-specific extension not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Secret handshake comes from small groups and clubs where members used a private, special handshake as a hidden sign. Members would learn a secret set of moves so outsiders could not tell, so the phrase means 'a private gesture to show membership or friendship'.