Oct 30, 2005

Attention all non-Greeks: They're not waving!


Some days you just wanna tell off the world. How do you give' em the extended middle finger in Greek? Mooja.

What is a MOOJA?
The mooja [MOO-ja, the j as in jug] is the Greek middle-finger counterpart. It is an obscene gesture widely used in Greece.

How to use a MOOJA
The mooja is executed by showing the open palm (facing the victim's direction) and all five fingers extended. If you want to emphasize, use both palms and ALL ten fingers. The mooja can be accompanied by various Greek phrases/profanities, one of the milder ones being: "Hey, jerk!" The mooja is ironically referred to as the "open palm award".

History of the MOOJA
The mooja dates back to the Byzantine age. It was used as a punishment for misdemeanours. The judge would place his palm in ashes and smudge the wrongdoer's face (moo-joo-ro-ma = Greek verb for smudge), thus publicly ridiculing the offender. Some argue that the mooja dates even further back to Ancient Greece.

For my greek friends I give you the greek Wikipedia link & text for mooja (μούντζα, μούτζα)

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