High five

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High five between two US Navy soldiers

High five is a gesture in which two people each raise one hand in order to hit the other's raised hand. It is usually used to express mutual satisfaction about a success or to congratulate someone . "High" means the arms raised in the air, and the fingers of each hand form the "five". The initiative for this gesture typically comes from the congratulator.

Various modifications can give the normal high five a special touch. For example, in the “Windmill” or “Flipside”, both participants swing their hands back down after they have met at the top until they meet again at the bottom. This variant is shown repeatedly in the film Top Gun . There are also techniques with which more than two participants can perform a high five together.

The high five, if not yet so named, was seen by Sergeant Bilko in 1955 in The Eating Contest of the Phil Silvers Show . It is generally believed that the high five comes from the older gesture of the gimme five! emerged when the recipient held the palm of his hand in front of him and the giver hit his with a loud clap. The designation "high five" and the popularity of the gesture are ascribed to basketball player Derek Smith and the Louisville Cardinals, a basketball team from Louisville, Kentucky .

Web links

Commons : High fives  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: High five  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. a b http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/ptop/alabaster/A22548747
  2. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/181375.html
  3. Jon Mooallem. "The history and mystery of the high five" , ESPN , July 29, 2011