Give me a high-five!
Let's slap our hands together!
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
I was led past the school bus through a crowd of police officers, angry parents, troubled teachers, and excited students trying to GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE.
(The Advocate)
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There was a boy who took one look at me and started screaming. I asked him to GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE, hoping that would settle him down. He stopped screaming for a moment, gave me the high five, and then went back to screaming.
(an actor describing the time he played Santa Claus at the Macy's department store in New York)
(The Advocate)
---
There was a boy who took one look at me and started screaming. I asked him to GIVE ME A HIGH FIVE, hoping that would settle him down. He stopped screaming for a moment, gave me the high five, and then went back to screaming.
(an actor describing the time he played Santa Claus at the Macy's department store in New York)
Did you
know?
Give me a high five
idiom
- something that you say when you want someone to hit your open hand with theirs, at a level above your shoulder
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
A high five is a celebratory gesture made by two people, each raising one hand to slap the raised hand of the other. It is usually meant to communicate mutual satisfaction to spectators or to extend congratulations from one person to another. The arms are normally extended into the air to form the "high" part, and the five fingers of each hand meet, making the "five", thus the name. In addition to the standard high five, there are other "fives":
Low five. As the phrase suggests, the arms and hands are positioned low instead of up in the air
Air five. Also known as five up, air five is a variation of the normal high five, but instead the hands never touch.
Very high five. This is a variation of the high five in which both parties take a running start, leap into the air, and high five in mid-air.
Wheelhouse. This is a variation on an air five in which the participants intentionally miss at the top of the arm swing. The hands continue through to the bottom where they connect in a reverse low five fashion.
There are several "urban myths" regarding the origin/inventor of the high five, although it is generally believed to have originated in the United States. Two African-American college basketball players claim to have invented the high five. A professional baseball player also says he created the gesture. Don't expect this to be solved anytime soon.
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"We just signed the largest contract in the company's history. Give me a high five!"
idiom
- something that you say when you want someone to hit your open hand with theirs, at a level above your shoulder
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
A high five is a celebratory gesture made by two people, each raising one hand to slap the raised hand of the other. It is usually meant to communicate mutual satisfaction to spectators or to extend congratulations from one person to another. The arms are normally extended into the air to form the "high" part, and the five fingers of each hand meet, making the "five", thus the name. In addition to the standard high five, there are other "fives":
Low five. As the phrase suggests, the arms and hands are positioned low instead of up in the air
Air five. Also known as five up, air five is a variation of the normal high five, but instead the hands never touch.
Very high five. This is a variation of the high five in which both parties take a running start, leap into the air, and high five in mid-air.
Wheelhouse. This is a variation on an air five in which the participants intentionally miss at the top of the arm swing. The hands continue through to the bottom where they connect in a reverse low five fashion.
There are several "urban myths" regarding the origin/inventor of the high five, although it is generally believed to have originated in the United States. Two African-American college basketball players claim to have invented the high five. A professional baseball player also says he created the gesture. Don't expect this to be solved anytime soon.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"We just signed the largest contract in the company's history. Give me a high five!"
