facepalm
noun

- a gesture in which the palm of one’s hand is brought to one’s face as an expression of dismay, exasperation, embarrassment, etc.

The Oxford English Dictionary

—
WORD ORIGIN

The term “facepalm” can be traced back to a Usenet post from May 15, 1996, which has been archived on Google Groups.

Since that time the expression has gained widespread popularity and is often used to depict disappointment, frustration, or embarrassment. For instance, stockbrokers facepalming have become a common image to reflect poor financial performance, and a variety of poor decisions in film, business, and politics have been referred to as “facepalm moments”. It was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary in August 2011.

—
RELATED GESTURES

- double facepalm = similar to the facepalm but performed with two hands

- SMH = an internet abbreviation meaning “shaking my head”

- head desk = expressing great frustration by striking the forehead against something, usually a desk or a wall. (Whereas the “head desk” gesture is typically done successive times to emphasize the motion, the facepalm gesture is usually a single act)

- face desk = on some media sites, “head desk” is combined with “facepalm” to form “face desk”, with relatively the same meaning except for the repetition

- head slapper = a mistake of obvious or shocking stupidity, prompting an expression of astonishment and exasperation performed by striking the forehead with a palm, often producing a loud slapping sound.

- eye-rolling = a passive-aggressive form of rejection

—
SYNONYMS

- for astonishment

amazement, astoundedness, astoundment, awe, bafflement, befuddlement, bemusement, bewilderment, confoundment, confusion, consternation, disbelief, disillusion, dumbfoundment, flabbergast, flabbergast(ment), incredulity, one for the books, perplexity, shock, something else, speechlessness, startlement, stunner, stupefaction

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Interestingly, the FACEPALM gesture is not exclusive to humans. For example, a group of mandrills at Colchester Zoo have been observed using a similar gesture to signal their desire for solitude and to avoid social interaction.”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations.

Every month, I spend evening and weekend hours with my family researching and writing your daily OWAD. It remains FREE, AD-free, and ALIVE thanks to voluntary donations from appreciative readers.

If you aren’t already, please also consider supporting us - even the equivalent of a single cup of coffee a month will help us cover mailing, site hosting, and maintenance costs. Just head over to DonorBox:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-5-3

or bank transfer to Paul Smith
IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40

Thanks so much!
Paul