- published: 07 Sep 2015
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A thumbs-up or thumbs-down is a common hand gesture achieved by a closed fist held with the thumb extended upward or downward in approval or disapproval, respectively. These gestures have become metaphors in English: "The audience gave the movie the thumbs-up" means that the audience approved of the movie, regardless of whether the gesture was actually made.
Unicode reserves 👍 and 👎 for these symbols. Other symbols are -b (right hand) and d- (left hand).
The source of the gesture is obscure, but a number of origins have been proposed.
Carleton S. Coon, having observed Barbary apes in Gibraltar using the gesture, hypothesised in the anthropological classic The Story of Man that it is a mutual celebration of having opposable thumbs. Critics[who?] have suggested, however, that the apes may be simply repeating after humans.
The Latin phrase pollice verso is used in the context of gladiatorial combat for a hand gesture used by Ancient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator. However, the type of gesture described by the phrase pollice verso and its meaning are ambiguous in the historical and literary record.