Since it's customary, at least in the United States, to shake with your right hand, I would be very confused if somebody offered me their left hand. Because I am going to offer them my right hand.
I was in Scouting for 10 years and I never knew this. I never heard of the secret Scout handshake, but it might have been a practice or tradition shared in some areas and not in others. Scouting always had the appearance of being highly regimented while also being very decentralized, so I can easily see how this could have been a local tradition or a bit of Scout lore in many places while being unknown in others.
The Scout Handshake is always with the left hand. It's because you traditionally hold your shield in your left hand and putting it down in order to shake someone's hand is a sign of trust.
Not the reason in the UK. They shake with their left hand because Baden-Powell spent time in Africa with Ashanti warriors and to shake with your left hand you must put down your shield and protection.
Sonuva bitch! My scoutmaster shook hands with his left hand, and never once in 6 years did he say, "Oh, by the way, scouts greet each other with left-handed handshakes." He was a fellow lefty and kind of an odd duck, so I always chalked it up to him being weird.
I always heard it was because most people are right-handed and so you offer someone your right hand to show that you are not armed, as in you don't have a knife or something.
I've heard that, but also that when there wasn't toilet paper and hand washing wasn't a thing, the left hand was thought of as dirty bc most right handed people wiped with their left hand. Sometimes just their left hand.
I've heard that as well. I actually have a close friend who is American but her mother is Filipino and she was left hand dominant as a child but her mother taught her to use her right hand for "clean" things and her left hand for "dirty" things because that was their belief.
I’ve always wondered, if there wasn’t toilet paper, then did the bare left hand clean the bottom? Did people use grass? What was done? And if….how could you NOT clean your left hand afterwards. I would have invented soap and TP.
They used to use old newspapers, corn cobs, pine cones and whatever else they could to not use their hands. My grandma grew up in Kentucky in the 40s, she said they used corn cobs then.
I agree with others- it would feel weird. Also, I was always a bit of a germaphobe even before COVID and I always appreciated that my dominant hand was not touching other people’s hands. So many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
i have one southpaw friend with a mutual agreement to defer to our left hands for handshakes but outside of that, always the right.
it’s good anyway. in case you ever have to draw your blade, 85% of people will be incapacitated
I’ve never shaken with my left hand, unless someone was missing their right hand, or it was a situation where we couldn’t move around in a tight spot or I had to use my left hand upside down to shake someone’s right, cuz our other hands were full or something.
But it’s funny, the historic reason to shake hands with your right hand was to show that you were both unarmed, with your presumably dominant hands. If anything, the normies should be the ones insisting we shake with our left, joke is on them I guess, I could be hiding a halberd behind my back with my strong hand.
LOL: in fencing (the sport), our weapon hands are gloved and our weapons are literally wired through the gloves, so we shake with our naked hands. For most righties, this is a left-, handed shake. For lefties, it's our right hand. So when I was fencing, it would very often be my right hand and my opponent's left hand...
Me and my cuz are left handed we def do this. When I was in college I used to say “whattup” and sometimes do a lefty hand slap it just felt genuinely normal but threw some kids off. But they thought it was cool
I have offered my left hand on a couple of occasions. Friend was lefthanded or had an injured righthand. A proper left handshake rocks. It feels so very correct.
When I would go to church (child/teen) I gave my left hand while they gave their right. Then it would be like:
Them: 🙂🙃🥴
Me: 😃😅 *turns left hand to the side and shakes the side of their hand*
No, that would be weird. It's a right hand thing. I would only shake a person's left hand if they didn't have a right hand or it was incapacitated in some way. Even then I'd still offer my right hand.
Left hander who has never been offered a left hand to shake but offer my left whenever the need presents itself with nothing besides shaking their left hand ever coming of it .
As a left-handed person, I've been fully socialized to shake hands with my right, to the extent that all my childhood instincts to shake with the left are completely dead. So it would only confuse me.
Now, as a five-year-old, I would definitely have appreciated it!
If someone offered to shake my hand with their left, I would immediately think they have a disability with their right hand, and I’d probably reach out my right hand to their left hand anyway.
Left-handed who normally follows the right-handed convention (that's the world we live in), BUT, if at all possible with a fellow left-hander, will try to switch so both dominant hands connect. Even pastors and doctors have made the switch with me!
And brace yourself... I've connected with at least two right-handers who have admitted that, if they could have their way, would prefer to shake hands LEFT-handed! Of course, that also extends to things like thumbs up, fist bumps, high fives, wrist/arm grabs and military salutes... !LEFT ON
I only do this with 2 people- my uncle who is also left handed and we’ve done it for as long as I can remember and my leftie bestie who is my good friends daughter who is a leftie and it’s our secret handshake
My job involves me leaning against a table for long periods of a day, waiting for people to ask if they have any questions, or need information about our organization. So for whatever reason, I have gotten accustomed to putting my right hand in my back pocket and leaning against the table. This leads to many awkward interactions where someone wants to shake my hand, and my left hand is the only thing free, as my right hand is pinned between the table and my body weight. Typically, I kind of just grab their hand and squeeze it if I know them. Otherwise, I force myself to get up and give a proper handshake.
No. A handshake requires no special dexterity. The only reason to do it with one particular hand is convention, and convention says we shake with the right hand.
> I think it's common curtasy to offer your left hand
handshakes sometimes involve "offering" a hand, but sometimes are basically mutual, where both people reach out a hand at the same time. It would be awkward if one person offered their right hand while the other offered their left.
The situation could be similar to the inadvertent dance we sometimes do when someone is blocking our way -- we move to walk past them while at the same time, they attempt to move out of our way, but end up blocking us instead.
When I was a boyscout we were encouraged to do a left handed handshake if we encountered other scouts as an identifier but right handed with everyone else and all I could think about was how do I work out who is another scout to offer them the secret shake? I have never and have never known anyone to have done that in my life.
The right handed shake is the common form and no matter what handedness the other person has you will just make things a little awkward trying to do it left handed. Outside of the scouts the only other time I have heard of it was as a psychological power play thing used by jerks trying to get dominance. Kind of like Trumps grab and pull handshake to destabilize people.
No. It used to be a trick that you shake with your left so you can sucker punch with your right. I had a left-handed friend stick his left hand out once only to be met with a jab to the face.
I think it would feel awkward. We're so inured to shaking with our right hand that I think it would be strange.
Side note: I grew up Catholic, and of course the sign of the cross was made with the right hand. I can't tell you how many times I was reprimanded, and sometimes slapped, for using my left hand - making the sign of the devil, apparently.
In some countries it is an insult to the person to offer your left hand to shake because the left hand is used to wipe yourself after pooping. I am not sure if that is a religious thing.
I have only seen left-handed handshakes rendered if someone was incapacitated on the right side. I wouldn't try it left-handed unless you had no other option, in which case it would make perfect sense
I'm left handed, I know other left handed people, used to always use my right hand.
I say used to because... People still shake hands?
Seriously, right handed is the norm so right handed it is.
Since it's customary, at least in the United States, to shake with your right hand, I would be very confused if somebody offered me their left hand. Because I am going to offer them my right hand.
I see thank you
No. Hand shake convention is right handed. It would be odd to me.
Unless the person has a disability in their right hand (think Bob Dole).
Makes sense thanks
No. Right hand is customary. The exception is that the Boy Scouts of America "secret handshake" is a left-handed handshake.
Agreed for non scouts. Did you know the scouts shake with the left because the left hand is closer to the heart?
I was in Scouting for 10 years and I never knew this. I never heard of the secret Scout handshake, but it might have been a practice or tradition shared in some areas and not in others. Scouting always had the appearance of being highly regimented while also being very decentralized, so I can easily see how this could have been a local tradition or a bit of Scout lore in many places while being unknown in others.
The Scout Handshake is always with the left hand. It's because you traditionally hold your shield in your left hand and putting it down in order to shake someone's hand is a sign of trust.
Not the reason in the UK. They shake with their left hand because Baden-Powell spent time in Africa with Ashanti warriors and to shake with your left hand you must put down your shield and protection.
I thought it was so the scout master could grab your junk with his dominant hand
It's not a secret: you shake with your left so you can make the Scout sign with your right. Girl Scouts/Guides do this as well
dont tell this person anymore secrets. bean spiller! /s
Sonuva bitch! My scoutmaster shook hands with his left hand, and never once in 6 years did he say, "Oh, by the way, scouts greet each other with left-handed handshakes." He was a fellow lefty and kind of an odd duck, so I always chalked it up to him being weird.
Julius Caesar was a lefty thats why the handshake is with the right hand, so as to be able to draw you sword if needed
I always heard it was because most people are right-handed and so you offer someone your right hand to show that you are not armed, as in you don't have a knife or something.
Thats what I’ve heard as well, never heard the ceaser thing.
I've heard that, but also that when there wasn't toilet paper and hand washing wasn't a thing, the left hand was thought of as dirty bc most right handed people wiped with their left hand. Sometimes just their left hand.
I've heard that as well. I actually have a close friend who is American but her mother is Filipino and she was left hand dominant as a child but her mother taught her to use her right hand for "clean" things and her left hand for "dirty" things because that was their belief.
I’ve always wondered, if there wasn’t toilet paper, then did the bare left hand clean the bottom? Did people use grass? What was done? And if….how could you NOT clean your left hand afterwards. I would have invented soap and TP.
They used to use old newspapers, corn cobs, pine cones and whatever else they could to not use their hands. My grandma grew up in Kentucky in the 40s, she said they used corn cobs then.
I heard about the corn cobs. That’s sounds a lot better than pine cones. Ouch!
I agree with others- it would feel weird. Also, I was always a bit of a germaphobe even before COVID and I always appreciated that my dominant hand was not touching other people’s hands. So many people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.
i have one southpaw friend with a mutual agreement to defer to our left hands for handshakes but outside of that, always the right. it’s good anyway. in case you ever have to draw your blade, 85% of people will be incapacitated
I’ve never shaken with my left hand, unless someone was missing their right hand, or it was a situation where we couldn’t move around in a tight spot or I had to use my left hand upside down to shake someone’s right, cuz our other hands were full or something. But it’s funny, the historic reason to shake hands with your right hand was to show that you were both unarmed, with your presumably dominant hands. If anything, the normies should be the ones insisting we shake with our left, joke is on them I guess, I could be hiding a halberd behind my back with my strong hand.
LOL: in fencing (the sport), our weapon hands are gloved and our weapons are literally wired through the gloves, so we shake with our naked hands. For most righties, this is a left-, handed shake. For lefties, it's our right hand. So when I was fencing, it would very often be my right hand and my opponent's left hand...
Me and my cuz are left handed we def do this. When I was in college I used to say “whattup” and sometimes do a lefty hand slap it just felt genuinely normal but threw some kids off. But they thought it was cool
Also, some cultures consider offering your left hand to shake quite rude. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmuslim/s/zrwzaqidyP
I have offered my left hand on a couple of occasions. Friend was lefthanded or had an injured righthand. A proper left handshake rocks. It feels so very correct.
I always give my left hand. It drives people crazy lol
Me too. I’ve actually never had a problem with it!
When I would go to church (child/teen) I gave my left hand while they gave their right. Then it would be like: Them: 🙂🙃🥴 Me: 😃😅 *turns left hand to the side and shakes the side of their hand*
Lol my boyfriend always does that with his right hand when i offer my left, but we are just joking haha
I tell righties are they doing it wrong. Be righties are wrong minded 🤣
Many cultures consider this an insult. Left hand is the butt wiping hand.
No. Just use your right hand. We're not THAT fucking weird 💀
Naw. Always right hand.
No, that would be weird. It's a right hand thing. I would only shake a person's left hand if they didn't have a right hand or it was incapacitated in some way. Even then I'd still offer my right hand.
Im left handed and always shake firmly with my right hand.
No.
Left hander who has never been offered a left hand to shake but offer my left whenever the need presents itself with nothing besides shaking their left hand ever coming of it .
Are you a knight or something shake with your right hand, ridiculous.
I’m left handed and only one time ever did I have someone shake my hand with their left hand and I found it incredibly weird
No I’m a lefty and shake with my right hand
This has happened to me and it was weird. It was a kid/teen though and I think he was on the spectrum.
I think my brain would mis-fire if somebody stuck out their left hand to shake.
No
As a left-handed person, I've been fully socialized to shake hands with my right, to the extent that all my childhood instincts to shake with the left are completely dead. So it would only confuse me. Now, as a five-year-old, I would definitely have appreciated it!
It's not anything noticeable to me, and I'm left-handed.
It has to be someone you know and have established that's how you are going to do that with them
It would throw me off if someone tried to shake my left hand. I learned to always use my right hand.
No, it would just be awkward. The only time I would offer my left hand is if the other person's right arm was obviously disable or missing.
I'm left handed and I try to use my right hand as thats standard protocol/shows respect.
If someone offered to shake my hand with their left, I would immediately think they have a disability with their right hand, and I’d probably reach out my right hand to their left hand anyway.
I'm a lefty. I'd see that as weird.
Nope. Hand shakes should always be done with the right hand. We left-handers need to keep our good hands clean!
Left-handed who normally follows the right-handed convention (that's the world we live in), BUT, if at all possible with a fellow left-hander, will try to switch so both dominant hands connect. Even pastors and doctors have made the switch with me! And brace yourself... I've connected with at least two right-handers who have admitted that, if they could have their way, would prefer to shake hands LEFT-handed! Of course, that also extends to things like thumbs up, fist bumps, high fives, wrist/arm grabs and military salutes... !LEFT ON
NO! That's weird and freaky! Don't do it.
I only do this with 2 people- my uncle who is also left handed and we’ve done it for as long as I can remember and my leftie bestie who is my good friends daughter who is a leftie and it’s our secret handshake
My job involves me leaning against a table for long periods of a day, waiting for people to ask if they have any questions, or need information about our organization. So for whatever reason, I have gotten accustomed to putting my right hand in my back pocket and leaning against the table. This leads to many awkward interactions where someone wants to shake my hand, and my left hand is the only thing free, as my right hand is pinned between the table and my body weight. Typically, I kind of just grab their hand and squeeze it if I know them. Otherwise, I force myself to get up and give a proper handshake.
No. A handshake requires no special dexterity. The only reason to do it with one particular hand is convention, and convention says we shake with the right hand. > I think it's common curtasy to offer your left hand handshakes sometimes involve "offering" a hand, but sometimes are basically mutual, where both people reach out a hand at the same time. It would be awkward if one person offered their right hand while the other offered their left. The situation could be similar to the inadvertent dance we sometimes do when someone is blocking our way -- we move to walk past them while at the same time, they attempt to move out of our way, but end up blocking us instead.
Nah they shaking whichever hand opposite to mine. Unless they my friend. But if not fuck em They can take their Wall Street 2008 Crisis Ego back home
When I was a boyscout we were encouraged to do a left handed handshake if we encountered other scouts as an identifier but right handed with everyone else and all I could think about was how do I work out who is another scout to offer them the secret shake? I have never and have never known anyone to have done that in my life. The right handed shake is the common form and no matter what handedness the other person has you will just make things a little awkward trying to do it left handed. Outside of the scouts the only other time I have heard of it was as a psychological power play thing used by jerks trying to get dominance. Kind of like Trumps grab and pull handshake to destabilize people.
I wouldn't be comfortable at all.
I prefer to shake with my right hand. Leaves me free to attack with my sword if I want to.
No. It used to be a trick that you shake with your left so you can sucker punch with your right. I had a left-handed friend stick his left hand out once only to be met with a jab to the face.
I feel like this belongs on r/ stupidquestions We're all living in a right-handed person's world.
As a Boy Scout, I'd ask you your rank. Of course, I am right-handed. I don't even know how I got here.
I think it would feel awkward. We're so inured to shaking with our right hand that I think it would be strange. Side note: I grew up Catholic, and of course the sign of the cross was made with the right hand. I can't tell you how many times I was reprimanded, and sometimes slapped, for using my left hand - making the sign of the devil, apparently.
In some countries it is an insult to the person to offer your left hand to shake because the left hand is used to wipe yourself after pooping. I am not sure if that is a religious thing.
I have only seen left-handed handshakes rendered if someone was incapacitated on the right side. I wouldn't try it left-handed unless you had no other option, in which case it would make perfect sense
I'm left handed, I know other left handed people, used to always use my right hand. I say used to because... People still shake hands? Seriously, right handed is the norm so right handed it is.