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Glite Dictionary
talk to the hand

talk to the hand

2 9.7
A rude phrase with a hand gesture that tells someone you will not listen
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : no hacer caso
  • When she started complaining, I just said, 'Talk to the hand!'

Examples

  • She rolled her eyes and told him to 'talk to the hand.'

  • She rolled her eyes and replied, 'Talk to the hand, I'm not interested.'

  • If you're looking for sympathy, you can just talk to the hand.

  • Rolling her eyes, Jessica made the 'talk to the hand' gesture and walked away.

  • When he tried to explain, she simply said, 'talk to the hand.'

  • When he started complaining, I just said, 'talk to the hand!'

  • He raised his hand dismissively and told her to talk to the hand.

Synonyms

to shut one's gob
vstalk to the hand
  • UK
9.9

To tell someone rudely to be quiet

is a refusal to listen rather than only ordering silence
to wave one's hand dismissively
vstalk to the hand
6.7

To move your hand to show you do not care

is a verbal dismissal refusing engagement rather than a gesture

Antonyms

to listen
∞ 1.0

Pay attention to sounds or speech to hear and understand them

to converse
29 3.3

To talk with someone in a friendly way

How Dismissive

talk to the hand
  • Offensive
2 9.7
to ignore
∞ 1.0
to disagree
∞ 1.0
to respond
∞ 1.0
to listen
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

talk to the hand main

Morphology

talk + to + the + hand

The literal composition 'talk to the hand' (speak to a body part) does not encode the dismissive pragmatic force of refusing to listen; the intended meaning depends on a cultural gesture and pragmatic inference rather than straightforward compositional semantics. Because its dismissive force is idiomatic and culturally grounded, a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would likely not infer the intended meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Talk to the hand comes from a rude gesture: someone holds up a flat hand toward a speaker, as if the speaker should talk to the hand instead of to them. That clear picture means 'I am not listening' or 'your opinion does not matter', which is why we use the phrase today.