Snapping (or clicking) one's fingers is the act of creating a snapping or clicking sound with one's fingers. Primarily this is done by building tension between the

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

and another ( middle,

index Index (or its plural form indices) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Index (''A Certain Magical Index''), a character in the light novel series ''A Certain Magical Index'' * The Index, an item on a Halo megastru ...

, or

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

) finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward, so it hits the palm of the same

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...

at a high speed. A

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

study in 2021 analyzed finger snapping, and found that a given audible snap sound occurs in just seven milliseconds. For reference, the

blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...

of an eye takes place in 150 milliseconds.

In culture

In Ancient Greece, snapping of fingers was used by musicians and dancers as a way to keep the rhythm and it was known with the words "ἀποληκέω" (''apolekeo''), "ἀποκρότημα" (''apokrotema'') (from the verb "ἀποκροτέω" - ''apokroteo'', "to snap the fingers") and "ἐπίπταισμα" (''epiptaisma''). Finger snapping is still common in modern Greece. Finger snapping may be used as a substitute for

hand clapping A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...

. A possible reason is that snapping is less disruptive than clapping during speeches and announcements." The practice of finger snapping is also popular within the poetry slam community, used by the audience as a spontaneous in-the-moment show of support or agreement with what is being shared by the poet. The practice has also infiltrated some conferences.

Pop culture

Finger snapping at someone has long been used as a sassy diva gesture, done to express a taunting satisfaction following what one has considered to be an impressive insult or diss. Sometimes finger-snapping is done in rapid succession for emphasis and combined with other types of sassy diva mannerisms, such as swivel-hipping and head-gyrating. It is largely associated with

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

and females, particularly gay black American men and black American women. It was derived in the 1980s and 90s from Black American gay male subcultures. In '' Avengers: Infinity War'', Thanos snaps his fingers causing the Blip.

In music

In many cultures, finger snapping is a form of body percussion. Sounds of a fingersnap also are sampled and used in many disparate genres of music, used mostly as percussion; the works of

Angelo Badalamenti Angelo Daniel Badalamenti (March 22, 1937 – December 11, 2022) was an American composer, best known for his work scoring films for director David Lynch, notably '' Blue Velvet'', the ''Twin Peaks'' saga (1990–1992, 2017), ''The Straight St ...

exhibit this in the soundtracks to, e.g., '' Twin Peaks'', '' Lost Highway'', as does the theme song from the television series '' The Addams Family''. Furthermore, a subgenre of hip hop known as snap music formed in the early 2000s in the

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

United States.

Persian variant

Beshkan ( Persian: بشكن), also known as the "Persian snap", is a traditional Iranian finger snap requiring both hands. The snapper creates a clicking noise similar in mechanism to the normal snap but louder in practice.

Technique

There are two variations of the Persian snap. The most common of the two for a right-handed individual is as follows: * Place hands together and rotate until the three right hand fingers are at the junction of the hand and fingers. * Rest the right middle finger on the left hand securely. * Then using the tension provided by the left thumb, snap the right index finger onto the gap between the junction and right middle finger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snap Articles containing video clips Body percussion Hand gestures