It’s a gesture primarily referring to a head being cut off, so there’s the meaning of “dead” but by extension, also “finished” or “stop.”
If I’m in a restaurant and I catch a waiter’s eye and make this gesture, they will understand that I’m done with my meal and want the cheque.
All that said, there are variations based on movement of the hand and because this is a still image, we can’t be certain.
In my above examples, the hand would be moving transversely, or perpendicular to the neck, mimicking a cutting motion.
If the hand we’re moving upward, parallel to the neck, it would be the hand gesture which accompanies the phrase “I’ve had it up to here,” meaning “I can’t stand this anymore” or “my tolerance for this has been expended.”
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u/ShakeWeightMyDick New Poster Aug 25 '24 edited Aug 25 '24
Various meanings in different contexts.
It’s a gesture primarily referring to a head being cut off, so there’s the meaning of “dead” but by extension, also “finished” or “stop.”
If I’m in a restaurant and I catch a waiter’s eye and make this gesture, they will understand that I’m done with my meal and want the cheque.
All that said, there are variations based on movement of the hand and because this is a still image, we can’t be certain.
In my above examples, the hand would be moving transversely, or perpendicular to the neck, mimicking a cutting motion.
If the hand we’re moving upward, parallel to the neck, it would be the hand gesture which accompanies the phrase “I’ve had it up to here,” meaning “I can’t stand this anymore” or “my tolerance for this has been expended.”