Slang dictionary
talk to the hand
[ tawk too thuh ³ó²¹²Ô»åÌý]
ºÚÁÏÍø does talk to the hand mean?Â
The dismissive phrase talk to the hand started in the 1990s as a silly but rude way of telling someone you don’t want to hear what they’re saying. In other words, “shut up.” It’s often accompanied by a “stop” hand gesture in the other person’s face. Extended versions of the phrase include “talk to the hand ’cause the face ain’t listening” and “talk to the hand ’cause the face don’t want to hear it.” As the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, new variations such as “talk to the finger ’cause you ain’t worth the five” and “talk to the left ’cause you ain’t right” were created.
Where does talk to the hand come from?
Many credit the Fox sitcom Martin with popularizing talk to the hand, though it may have already been in use before then. Starring Martin Lawrence, the show aired from 1992 to 1997 and had a major impact on ’90s slang.
Examples of talk to the hand
Who uses talk to the hand?
Talk to the hand was mostly used by younger generations in the 1990s. It’s pretty rare to hear talk to the hand today. After all, this phrase is best used in person, and many slang terms are now born online.Â
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of talk to the hand like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of talk to the hand that will help our users expand their word mastery.