#1  
  09-09-2005, 01:36 AM
lordsmurf's Avatar
Site Staff – Forum Moderator
 
Arcade Wins: Asteroids Champion Minigolf Champion People on Fire Champion
Location: The Smurfs Village
Stats: 9,761 posts since May 2005
Status: Moderator
Thanks: 130 times in 115 posts
Faux pas = literally, False Step, is a violation of accepted, although unwritten, social rules. Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another.

Examples in various cultures................

African Regions
- A right-handed handshake.

Arab countries
- Displaying the soles of your feet or touching somebody with your shoes.
- Eating with your left hand. Throughout most of the Middle East the left hand is reserved for bodily hygiene. Thus, the right hand should be used for eating.

China
- Giving someone a timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another possible interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give clock" in Chinese is "song zhong," which is a homophone of a phrase for "attending a funeral."

Central Europe
- Shaking hands while wearing gloves (this does not apply to women).

Europe
- Using a bidet as a toilet or water fountain, a faux pas common with first-time visitors to Europe.

France
- Giving chrysanthemums to a host or hostess; in France, chrysanthemums are given to mourners after a death, and to give them at any other time is in bad taste.
- Bringing a bottle of wine with you when coming for a dinner in somebody's home suggests that the hosts are unable to provide their own good wine.
- Entering a house without being invited to do it; in the house, leaving your coat without being invited to do it (you can ask: "May I ...?").
- Asking for cheese after taking dessert.
- In private dinner, not finishing your meal: this implies the food is so poor you can't finish it, or your host doesn't balance correctly the quantity of food you need.

Germany; Austria
- As is the case in many languages with such grammatical rules, addressing someone with the familiar second person pronoun (du) when they should be addressed with the formal form (Sie).
- Mentioning Nazis, Adolf Hitler in informal conversation - on a related note, the use of the Nazi Salute and accompanying phrases such as "Heil Hitler" and "Sieg Heil" is actually illegal in Germany.

Japan
- Holding anything with chopsticks by two people at the same time, or passing an item from chopsticks to chopsticks is considered very unpolite, as it will remind bystanders of the Japanese funeral ritual. Sticking them into food (and especially rice) has similar connotations.
- Not having a business card to give out when meeting people for the first time, especially in business.
- When greeting or thanking another person, not bowing lower than the other person when the other person is older than you or has a higher social status.
- Not using polite language and honorifics when speaking with someone having a higher social status. (Though most Japanese are very lenient with Westerners in this regard.)
- On the train or subway, sitting on a seat designated for the elderly or handicapped when you are not such a person.
- On the escalators at the train/subway stations, not making room for people who want to walk up or down the escalator. You should stand on the side and not right in the middle of the escalator or on the side where people need to move faster.
- Not sending a New Year's postcard to someone who sent you one.
- Sending a New Year's postcard to someone who suffered a death in the family during the past year.
- Taking out the burnable trash too early before (like the night before) the morning pickup time. This allows cats and crows to attack the garbage and make a mess.

Romania; Russia; Slovakia; Hungary; Serbia
- Giving somebody an even number of flowers. This should only be done in funerals.
- Whistling indoors. This is considered to bring bad luck.

Scandinavia
- Not taking your shoes off when you enter somebody's home.
- Not finishing your food. This implies that the food is so terrible that you couldn't eat it. Explanation and apologies should be provided in case of uneaten food.
- Being late. The Nordic countries are u
__________________
The LS Collection:. My Cartoon and TV Show List | My Want List | My Future Projects
Reply With Quote
  #2  
  09-09-2005, 02:36 AM
 
Verified Member
 
Location: Dunkin' Donuts
Stats: 267 posts since Jun 2005
Status: Verified Member
Thanks: 0 times in 0 posts
the two finger salute means f*** off and has a historical origin involving the french.
__________________
Don't hate the playa, hate the game. A'ight?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
  09-09-2005, 02:49 AM
allaboutduncan's Avatar
Verified Member
 
Location: Murfreesboro, TN, USA
Stats: 1,189 posts since Apr 2005
Status: Verified Member
Thanks: 4 times in 3 posts
I think the two finger salute had it's origins with the bow and arrow. Something to do with those two fingers being the bow fingers.

Also, this one:
Quote:
quote:China
- Giving someone a timepiece as a gift. Traditional superstitions regard this as counting the seconds to the recipient's death. Another possible interpretation of this is that the phrase "to give clock" in Chinese is "song zhong," which is a homophone of a phrase for "attending a funeral."
That changes a storyline on LOST where the Korean Mob Enforcer was delivering watches to several associates, assuming that Koreans hold the same belief.
  #4  
  09-09-2005, 06:15 AM
 
Verified Member
 
Location: Dunkin' Donuts
Stats: 267 posts since Jun 2005
Status: Verified Member
Thanks: 0 times in 0 posts
yep, its to do with archers. English archers would stick those two fingers up at the french to show they still had their archery fingers (the french used to chop those fingers off of prisoners).

So its a friendly greeting to our french neighbours.
__________________
Don't hate the playa, hate the game. A'ight?
Reply With Quote
Reply
Thread Tools
Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
UFC 60: Hughes VS. Gracie (Full prediction) DAN_D Reality TV: Sports, Gameshows, Non-Fiction 9 05-28-2006 10:22 AM
Superman Returns - FULL TRAILER allaboutduncan Superheroes, Cartoons and Anime 2 05-02-2006 08:10 PM

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:13 AM  —  vBulletin Copyright © Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd

Contact Us   -   Top of Page   -   Site Home   -   Forum Home   -   Archive   -   Forum Policies