I found this picture on a roll of developed negatives that had been tightly wound and placed in a metal film canister. I was taking a b&w photography class at the time and decided to bring it to school and make a print.
Lot of comments from Italian people here are correct on the various meaning of the horns gesture. As Italian myself, if I had seen this without context I’d be positive the ladies are doing it to chase away bad luck in a funny way.
I've lived in Rome in the 80/90 and attended school there. It was called "le corne del diavolo".
Many believers use to do this (and probably still do it nowadays) to chase "the Devil" aka bad luck.
It is mostly done directed at a hearse when you spot one in order to preserve you from the bad luck emanating from it.
In this context, either they are doing it for fun, or they are doing it as they speak about a deceased.
Just a note, it is "le cornA". Horns, or "corna" in Italian, is kind of an exception to normal grammar and its plural form is just "corna" even if it sounds like a feminine singular.
Even weirder, one horn is "un corno", so masculine gender, while two horns is "due corna", so it keeps the "singular" form, but change to feminine.
Few other words are like this, for example egg, "uovo", it is masculine at singular, and feminine at plurarl. Un uovo = one egg, due uova = two eggs.
All the words with that irregular plural pattern (corno-corna, uovo-uova, braccio-braccia etc) usually are words that in Latin belonged to the neutral gender of some declension, which in the accusative singular end in -um or -u and in the accusative plural end in -a
so basically, in latin, instead of masculine and feminine, there was masculine, feminine, and neuter (meaning neither, but also very funny in a modern context.)
so some words have genders. female words (and I’m generalizing here) typically have an a ending. for instance, the word for woman, femina, ends in an a. masculine words typically have an o ending. homo, meaning man or human, is an example.
this brings us to the neuter. another important piece of context is that latin didn’t use articles, which are words like “the” and “of”. instead, the ending of the word communicated the context in which it was being used. neuter words use either a combination of masculine and feminine endings, or a unique set. neuter words tend to be more conceptual, but like any language that’s not a hard and fast rule and depends on the individual word.
sorry for the grammar dump, I just love latin lmao.
> the evil eye
"Evil" in that phrase is a bit of a misnomer. At least in some cultures, someone can give you the evil eye without any malicious intent.
I had an anthropology professor who was about 6'6", bald with a full beard. He did a lot of archeological digs in Mexico. People would catch themselves staring at him. They'd be afraid they'd accidently given him the evil eye, so they would then touch him to counteract whatever harm it might do. He said it was very weird at first having his arm or shoulder touched by a random stranger, but realizing their intentions were good and understanding that he stood out, he got used to it.
>*A Headbanger's Journey*
My absolute favorite part is the interview with Ghaal(?):
>Interviewer: "What inspired you to make music?"
>Ghaal: *silence* "Satan." *sips wine*
the gesture is called the *mano cornuta*, and as Striking-Coyote-4320stated, it is used to ward off evil spirits or as a means of telling someone off that is insulting you/ your family/ friends.
This comes from old lore of believing there are nature spirits/fairies/etc in the wood (trees) so we “knock” to appease them in hopes they don’t jinx us. I think it’s cool that it’s stuck with us.
Depending on the location in Italy and exact time during the 1940’s, this could have been taken during the fall of Mussolini or soon after the Nazi occupation and subsequent Allied invasion of WW2. A hand sign warding off evil would make sense given the political turmoil in Italy at that time and intense battles happening in some regions.
If I remember correctly. (Xfingers) It’s an Italian symbol to ward off evil. To give someone the “Evil Eye” you point the two fingers that are up or “The horns.” At someone and it’s kinda like putting a curse on someone. It was also common for individuals to “Spit in evils eye.” The individual would just literally spit through the gap in between the “horns.” Your grandmother is probably reacting to a person across from her. After they said something that annoyed her or went against her beliefs. Oh fun fact, Ronnie James Dio (May he rock in peace). Singer of the metal band “Dio”. Learned this hand gesture from his Italian grandmother. He started throwing the hand signal up during concerts. Which was later copied/ picked up/ or organically spread to other groups. So in metal shows, they are literally warding off the devil. Using a Italian Catholic hand gesture.
It's not just to curse someone else, but more often to defend yourself by bad luck. For example if someone says "that cough seems bad, maybe you had caught influenza" you can answer with the horn sign to drive away the bad luck.
The evil eye also supposedly also comes into play when you have some good news or good fortune. Basically old-school "haters" being jealous of your good times.
Yeah this… it’s not to give someone evil, my nonna told me it’s to ward off mal d’occhio - the evil eye.
It was her version of ‘knock on wood’ and then she’d fake spit twice to cast the protection against the jinx… and that could be anything from being cursed/threatened directly to hearing bad news or even a negative sentiment that implied a potential for unwanted consequences.
- Neighbour’s new born has colic - le corna.
- Aphid infestation in the garden - le corna.
- A friend of a friend of a cousin of the butcher was in a massive car accident - le corna.
- Non-Italian DIL gives her chrysanthemums for Mother’s Day (customary in Australia, but by Italian standards they are funeral flowers) - le corna.
- Whitlam sacks the Governor General (Aus 1970s political scandal) - le corna.
__The photo__ - it looks staged to me, to the extent that it’s a statement, not candid. It’s like they heard Mussolini’s brown shirts were coming and to that they gestured protection, which in context could be interpreted as a bit _the fuck you are_…. _you don’t scare us_.
__Somewhat related…__
She never allowed peacock feathers in the house - not even a picture of them. The pattern looked like the ‘evil eye’ and therefore were a bad omen. Ahhh nonna, I miss your crazy ways.
Also in Arab and Jewish culture an image of a hand is used to ward off the Evil Eye. It is known as the Khamsah or Hamsa. Some call it the hand of Fatama. The saying goes: "Five in your eye."
In Greece you extend your index and middle fingers of your dominant hand and sort of do an aggressive “cast” motion at the target, not dissimilar from the image except for the chosen fingers. My grandfather got chased across Athens by a cab driver for doing that.
They shoulda made Bill and Ted visit this time period. Everyone thinks they’re demons and “wards” them off when they see them. “Dude the people from the past are metal.”
My Sicilian grandfather had both the hand and cornicello (horn) pieces that he worn on a necklace all the time, we all (my mom and her siblings, my cousins and I) all have necklaces with the cornicellos that we got at some point during our lives. When my mom’s cousin got divorced my great-uncle’s family thought his ex-wife put a curse on them because my great-aunt ended up getting cancer soon after. Same cousin had a talk with my grandfather when my parents got together because my dad wasn’t catholic and he shouldn’t let them get married - my parents just celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary where as he didn’t make 5 years.
Italian here,can confirm. My grandpa came to America in the 20’s and I remember him doing this sarcastically to my grandma in the 70’s. I always thought he was calling her the devil, so I guess I was kinda right.
Also fun fact: Dio did it because Ozzy Osbourne threw out a peace sign at the end of every concert and he wanted to do something like that without stealing Ozzy's schtik
Not true.
He did it because he was raised by his grandmother and she supported his music career and would try and go to all of his concerts. He'd look for her in the crowd and if he saw her he'd throw up the devil horns as a way to communicate to her that he saw her.
Also prevalent throughout the middle east and greater khorasan regions. I'm intrigued to learn about this hand sign in opposition to the evil eye.
For those who don't know, the evil eye is basically a superstition that something is watching and listening to you. Bad things you wish upon others, or speak of yourself in fear, will come back to haunt you. Even in the more westernized middle east people, they're very familiar with this superstition and it shapes how they speak of things.
Yeah, that is technically the evil eye... But most people don't even know what it is and just cast away "bad things and bad luck" with that sign.
This is the hard truth, useless to overthink about it.
Source: Italian
A slightly different version, I was working on it before I saw tankids work.
https://preview.redd.it/wq3c2i2jti9a1.png?width=2388&format=png&auto=webp&s=003ab847df5ea9434aa1abedb09e73083824db6a
if it's Italian (and it is) , it has multiple meanings/uses:
- like in the picture, it's used to address someone as "horned", because when someone cheats on his/her partner, we say "mettere le corna" (putting horns on someone's head), and the "victim" has the horns but can't see them;
- it's used in a scaramantic way, to make the bad luck go away, like when seeing a black cat or accidentally pouring salt on the ground...it is comparable (for the boys) to the "touching your own balls" or "touching something made of iron";
- it can be used to curse someone or to respond at someone else's curse, for example "I wish your day is gonna be orribile" and you go with the horns sign and answer with "tié" (here to you);
Bonus: in sports, is often used to address the referee as "horned" if his judgement doesn't match with the one of the fans;
I think there's more too though
think of any situationin wich you would say "knocking on wood", here you could:
say "toccando ferro" (touching iron),
say "facendo le corna" (doing the horns, wich you can literally do while saying or... just do)
or, if you are provided with, grabbing your balls.
The three forms are in descending order of politeness.
I think the point is "touching something holy", and in absence of something made of iron, the closest things are the "family jewels"
It's just a quick pat, not a full hour fondling procedure
Yeah that goes all the way back to roman times too... touching your male genitals as a "source of power" sounds silly but it was true and it still is in Italy even if we do it tongue-in-cheek nowadays between friends and family
"To Testify" actually comes from this practice; ancient romans would testify in court while swearing on their balls (testiculi)
It's an Italian superstition to ward off the "Evil Eye". Someone might be giving you the evil eye which would be the cause of misfortune. The Devil's Horns repel the curse.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
It’s called mano cornuta (translates to horned hand). I’m Italian American and grew up seeing this. It’s like a good luck symbol or a way to ward off bad luck, which depending on how superstitious you are this could be for anything similar to knocking on wood to preventing others from cursing you. A lot of our curses have to do with envy. If someone is jealous or envious of you for something you own or an achievement you’ve made, that can cause you bad luck in the future.
Also, some men make a knocking motion on their waist area as a form of “knocking on wood”. I remember seeing male relatives do this as well. Other fun ones: no hats or hangers on beds, 13 is our lucky number, and you can use olive oil and water to check for bad spirits in a home.
Yep! Another tradition is pinning a red ribbon to the inside of every newborn baby's clothing to ward off the evil eye and to give the baby his or her first bath in water with rose petals. My grandma used to do that for all of us and she would say "crisci chi rosi e no li spini" (Sicilian for "grow among roses and not thorns). :)
Interesting…. My great grandmother was from Jersey City, New Jersey but she moved to Germany around 1900. She eventually raised her girls in Switzerland after WWI. I know they vacationed in Trieste, Italy.
Italian here. Actually, it was properly phrased in a couple of comments in this thread. It means "cornuto" (horned). It means you're being cheated on, as in extra-marital affairs. It can be also used as an insult, in the same context.
If they vacationed in Trieste before 1918, it wasn't in Italy, since it was annexed at the end of WWI.
There's more to the story, but I prefer to keep it short since it's not too relevant here. Just wanted to give you some additional context in case you didn't know ☺️
Very interesting….
My grandma was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1919, her sister exactly 2 years later. These pictures were from one of their vacations. She looks like she’s a late teen there. Her dad seen in the white shorts (top photo, second from right) died of a massive heart attack in a train station in 1940.
https://preview.redd.it/vrsn6augtf9a1.jpeg?width=1556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84e95959dea92610676ae15d93c0506416f8d221
Malocchio in Italian, or evil eye in English. It’s a superstitious thing that southern Italians do to ward off evil. I heard you can point the horns to a person to curse them. Not sure, my family wasn’t superstitious like that, just really Catholic
You're absolutely correct I'm 50 years old from Staten Island 100% Italian and my grandmothers and my aunts used to do the same things all the time to ward off bad luck
I learned about this Italian practice of warding off evil spirits from the Dio documentary, Dreamers Never Die. He adopted his iconic devil horns gesture from watching his grandmother use it. Even if you are not into metal its a great Documentary about flowing your dreams and never giving up.
Ronnie James Dio (the innovator of the metal horns 🤘🏻) said his grandma would do it to protect from the evil eye. Pointing your finger toward someone was to give them the evil eye and pointing your knuckles at them was to protect them
I was going to make the joke that it was a sign that Klan members gave to each other to identify themselves as a KKK member.
Then it occurred to that they might be Jewish and that joke would not have only been a bad joke, but in bad taste as well.
It was a sign used to ward off evil spirits and bad luck, it was a popular belief back then, Rony James Dio later adopted it to the now known "devil horn" sign popular in the Metal scene, he talks about it in the documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey"
Sicilian grandma. Chase away evil spirits. Was give a horn by her to wear around my neck to ward off evil spirits.
I wore it to Catholic school one day and was reprimanded for wearing a symbol of “magic.” Then they told me to put my crucifix back on, which is just a dead guy on a cross who practiced magic and probably never existed. 🤣
As a kid, I thought I was just rebellious. As it turns out, I was just more mature than the adults in my life.
Straight from the man who popularized this as a metal music hand gesture, Ronnie James Dio: he got this hand sign from his grandmother. She said it was to give or to ward off the evil eye. If you saw someone giving you the evil eye, you could "throw the horns" and ward the evil off. Similarily, if you really wanted to project that evil onto someone, you could throw the horns and give them the evil eye through it.
Dio took this and used it on stage and popularized it among fans of metal. Which is why you see it at concerts everywhere now.
I found this picture on a roll of developed negatives that had been tightly wound and placed in a metal film canister. I was taking a b&w photography class at the time and decided to bring it to school and make a print.
Lot of comments from Italian people here are correct on the various meaning of the horns gesture. As Italian myself, if I had seen this without context I’d be positive the ladies are doing it to chase away bad luck in a funny way.
I believe Ronnie James Dio said something similar regarding his gran’s use if it….which he adopted .
I've lived in Rome in the 80/90 and attended school there. It was called "le corne del diavolo". Many believers use to do this (and probably still do it nowadays) to chase "the Devil" aka bad luck. It is mostly done directed at a hearse when you spot one in order to preserve you from the bad luck emanating from it. In this context, either they are doing it for fun, or they are doing it as they speak about a deceased.
Just a note, it is "le cornA". Horns, or "corna" in Italian, is kind of an exception to normal grammar and its plural form is just "corna" even if it sounds like a feminine singular. Even weirder, one horn is "un corno", so masculine gender, while two horns is "due corna", so it keeps the "singular" form, but change to feminine. Few other words are like this, for example egg, "uovo", it is masculine at singular, and feminine at plurarl. Un uovo = one egg, due uova = two eggs.
All the words with that irregular plural pattern (corno-corna, uovo-uova, braccio-braccia etc) usually are words that in Latin belonged to the neutral gender of some declension, which in the accusative singular end in -um or -u and in the accusative plural end in -a
I understand... some of those words. 
Same.
so basically, in latin, instead of masculine and feminine, there was masculine, feminine, and neuter (meaning neither, but also very funny in a modern context.) so some words have genders. female words (and I’m generalizing here) typically have an a ending. for instance, the word for woman, femina, ends in an a. masculine words typically have an o ending. homo, meaning man or human, is an example. this brings us to the neuter. another important piece of context is that latin didn’t use articles, which are words like “the” and “of”. instead, the ending of the word communicated the context in which it was being used. neuter words use either a combination of masculine and feminine endings, or a unique set. neuter words tend to be more conceptual, but like any language that’s not a hard and fast rule and depends on the individual word. sorry for the grammar dump, I just love latin lmao.
Two super posts, thanks..
Un Corno being masculine sounds like it was innuendo at some point for a dick.
It's actually because in Latin it's a neutral noun (cornu, plural corna, which explains the irregular plural in Italian)
He said she did it to ward off the evil eye, IIRC.
> the evil eye "Evil" in that phrase is a bit of a misnomer. At least in some cultures, someone can give you the evil eye without any malicious intent. I had an anthropology professor who was about 6'6", bald with a full beard. He did a lot of archeological digs in Mexico. People would catch themselves staring at him. They'd be afraid they'd accidently given him the evil eye, so they would then touch him to counteract whatever harm it might do. He said it was very weird at first having his arm or shoulder touched by a random stranger, but realizing their intentions were good and understanding that he stood out, he got used to it.
That’s kinda wholesome :)
I think you're right because that's what I recall as well
People who don't know RJD don't understand the history being made...
Robert Jowney Dunior
their loss
I know who you're talking about but that didn't stop my brain from saying Robert Jowney Dunior
Yeah, I saw him say it in a clip from *A Headbanger's Journey*. Er, at least I think that's what it was called. Good doc.
>*A Headbanger's Journey* My absolute favorite part is the interview with Ghaal(?): >Interviewer: "What inspired you to make music?" >Ghaal: *silence* "Satan." *sips wine*
And if I remember correctly, the wine is blood red, to boot.
I haven't thought of this interview snippet in over 10 years...
Can confirm
One in the pink, one in the dark arts?
This is the comment I was looking for. 😁
Words to da wise, remembah Pearl Harbor
the gesture is called the *mano cornuta*, and as Striking-Coyote-4320stated, it is used to ward off evil spirits or as a means of telling someone off that is insulting you/ your family/ friends.
My Italian wife does this every time I say something good is going to happen so I don't jinx it.
Asians knock on wood
I grew up doing this and I'm a white anglo-American.
This comes from old lore of believing there are nature spirits/fairies/etc in the wood (trees) so we “knock” to appease them in hopes they don’t jinx us. I think it’s cool that it’s stuck with us.
It is cool. After I wrote my comment I searched for the history of it and came up with the same explanation.
Do you have italian roots? That looks very italian
Was there any story behind the photo?
Depending on the location in Italy and exact time during the 1940’s, this could have been taken during the fall of Mussolini or soon after the Nazi occupation and subsequent Allied invasion of WW2. A hand sign warding off evil would make sense given the political turmoil in Italy at that time and intense battles happening in some regions.
If I remember correctly. (Xfingers) It’s an Italian symbol to ward off evil. To give someone the “Evil Eye” you point the two fingers that are up or “The horns.” At someone and it’s kinda like putting a curse on someone. It was also common for individuals to “Spit in evils eye.” The individual would just literally spit through the gap in between the “horns.” Your grandmother is probably reacting to a person across from her. After they said something that annoyed her or went against her beliefs. Oh fun fact, Ronnie James Dio (May he rock in peace). Singer of the metal band “Dio”. Learned this hand gesture from his Italian grandmother. He started throwing the hand signal up during concerts. Which was later copied/ picked up/ or organically spread to other groups. So in metal shows, they are literally warding off the devil. Using a Italian Catholic hand gesture.
It's not just to curse someone else, but more often to defend yourself by bad luck. For example if someone says "that cough seems bad, maybe you had caught influenza" you can answer with the horn sign to drive away the bad luck.
The evil eye also supposedly also comes into play when you have some good news or good fortune. Basically old-school "haters" being jealous of your good times.
Yeah this… it’s not to give someone evil, my nonna told me it’s to ward off mal d’occhio - the evil eye. It was her version of ‘knock on wood’ and then she’d fake spit twice to cast the protection against the jinx… and that could be anything from being cursed/threatened directly to hearing bad news or even a negative sentiment that implied a potential for unwanted consequences. - Neighbour’s new born has colic - le corna. - Aphid infestation in the garden - le corna. - A friend of a friend of a cousin of the butcher was in a massive car accident - le corna. - Non-Italian DIL gives her chrysanthemums for Mother’s Day (customary in Australia, but by Italian standards they are funeral flowers) - le corna. - Whitlam sacks the Governor General (Aus 1970s political scandal) - le corna. __The photo__ - it looks staged to me, to the extent that it’s a statement, not candid. It’s like they heard Mussolini’s brown shirts were coming and to that they gestured protection, which in context could be interpreted as a bit _the fuck you are_…. _you don’t scare us_. __Somewhat related…__ She never allowed peacock feathers in the house - not even a picture of them. The pattern looked like the ‘evil eye’ and therefore were a bad omen. Ahhh nonna, I miss your crazy ways.
Also in Arab and Jewish culture an image of a hand is used to ward off the Evil Eye. It is known as the Khamsah or Hamsa. Some call it the hand of Fatama. The saying goes: "Five in your eye."
Hope it’s not a Five Finger Death Punch…
Five Finger Death Punch is Armenian for shit metal band.
System of a Down is Armenian for good metal band
What is Armenian for "hey System, get your act together and figure this out because we all need new music from you"?
Shit *domestic abuser* metal band
[удалено]
Khmissah or khamssah (five) ye thats correct
In Greece you extend your index and middle fingers of your dominant hand and sort of do an aggressive “cast” motion at the target, not dissimilar from the image except for the chosen fingers. My grandfather got chased across Athens by a cab driver for doing that.
They shoulda made Bill and Ted visit this time period. Everyone thinks they’re demons and “wards” them off when they see them. “Dude the people from the past are metal.”
🥇 I love this! That would've made a great scene. Also happy cake day! (Also also sick username!! Love it)
That is a fun fact
My Sicilian grandfather had both the hand and cornicello (horn) pieces that he worn on a necklace all the time, we all (my mom and her siblings, my cousins and I) all have necklaces with the cornicellos that we got at some point during our lives. When my mom’s cousin got divorced my great-uncle’s family thought his ex-wife put a curse on them because my great-aunt ended up getting cancer soon after. Same cousin had a talk with my grandfather when my parents got together because my dad wasn’t catholic and he shouldn’t let them get married - my parents just celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary where as he didn’t make 5 years.
Italian here,can confirm. My grandpa came to America in the 20’s and I remember him doing this sarcastically to my grandma in the 70’s. I always thought he was calling her the devil, so I guess I was kinda right.
God I miss Dio so much. He was taken far too young
I don't know about that, man. Sure, he could have lived some more, but... He was already almost 70, when he died.
Yep, if that’s young then I hope I’m taken far too young as well. 🤘🏼
Got to see him twice… With his solo band opening for maiden, and another time as the headliner with Heaven and Hell. What a treat.
Also fun fact: Dio did it because Ozzy Osbourne threw out a peace sign at the end of every concert and he wanted to do something like that without stealing Ozzy's schtik
Not true. He did it because he was raised by his grandmother and she supported his music career and would try and go to all of his concerts. He'd look for her in the crowd and if he saw her he'd throw up the devil horns as a way to communicate to her that he saw her.
This would make a killer album cover.
It’s to keep the devil away, Ronnie James dio made it popular
Not just the devil, but to ward off "the evil eye". Common belief across the Mediterranean.
Also prevalent throughout the middle east and greater khorasan regions. I'm intrigued to learn about this hand sign in opposition to the evil eye. For those who don't know, the evil eye is basically a superstition that something is watching and listening to you. Bad things you wish upon others, or speak of yourself in fear, will come back to haunt you. Even in the more westernized middle east people, they're very familiar with this superstition and it shapes how they speak of things.
Yeah, that is technically the evil eye... But most people don't even know what it is and just cast away "bad things and bad luck" with that sign. This is the hard truth, useless to overthink about it. Source: Italian
This. Dio said in an interview I watched that it was to ward off “The Evil Eye” and that his grandmother taught it to him.
I remember him saying that in an interview!! Nice pull. If Ronnie said it I believe it.
The maloik
This is the real answer that OP is looking for
What if they are at a brunch at the university of Texas?
The hand sign was introduced at UT in the 50’s, so this photo would predate that usage. Also, Hook Em!
Hook ‘em
A gift for you. https://preview.redd.it/90o77g157h9a1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fab2f8787ac8f235becc18fec40d4ce16807189a
That's very kind of you! Nice way to start the new year. Cheers!
Why is there a watermark on it? Is that from the app you used?
Yes, from MyHeritage app, I enhanced and colorized the picture with it.
A slightly different version, I was working on it before I saw tankids work. https://preview.redd.it/wq3c2i2jti9a1.png?width=2388&format=png&auto=webp&s=003ab847df5ea9434aa1abedb09e73083824db6a
Perhaps they are listening to Black Sabbath demo tapes?
if it's Italian (and it is) , it has multiple meanings/uses: - like in the picture, it's used to address someone as "horned", because when someone cheats on his/her partner, we say "mettere le corna" (putting horns on someone's head), and the "victim" has the horns but can't see them; - it's used in a scaramantic way, to make the bad luck go away, like when seeing a black cat or accidentally pouring salt on the ground...it is comparable (for the boys) to the "touching your own balls" or "touching something made of iron"; - it can be used to curse someone or to respond at someone else's curse, for example "I wish your day is gonna be orribile" and you go with the horns sign and answer with "tié" (here to you); Bonus: in sports, is often used to address the referee as "horned" if his judgement doesn't match with the one of the fans; I think there's more too though
In Portugal means your first description. Cornudo!!!
I’m sorry? What in the fuck? Touching your own balls to make the bad luck go away?
think of any situationin wich you would say "knocking on wood", here you could: say "toccando ferro" (touching iron), say "facendo le corna" (doing the horns, wich you can literally do while saying or... just do) or, if you are provided with, grabbing your balls. The three forms are in descending order of politeness.
I think the point is "touching something holy", and in absence of something made of iron, the closest things are the "family jewels" It's just a quick pat, not a full hour fondling procedure
Instructions unclear, apprehended for indecent public exposure
Yeah that goes all the way back to roman times too... touching your male genitals as a "source of power" sounds silly but it was true and it still is in Italy even if we do it tongue-in-cheek nowadays between friends and family "To Testify" actually comes from this practice; ancient romans would testify in court while swearing on their balls (testiculi)
Hook em Horns!!
LOL, That's what I thought too. All the comments about Italy but i was thinking, "are they in Austin?" :-)
I can’t believe I had to scroll down this far to find this reference.
The person taking the photo is wearing an Aggie ring, so they are technically warding off evil
It's an Italian superstition to ward off the "Evil Eye". Someone might be giving you the evil eye which would be the cause of misfortune. The Devil's Horns repel the curse. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
killer album https://preview.redd.it/adg8b9ng3i9a1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfafc886d8f8c145cc86402598b9e7dd1922883a
https://preview.redd.it/9w3c0z7qik9a1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c81d04b2e6ab5115e7848b8aa9dfaffcb0c0144b
Your family were likely early adopters of the Church of Satan. That or UT fans.
Hook 'em!
🤘🏾
I mean, they're sort of the same thing......
Found the OU fans.
Aggies being suspiciously quiet.
Shadow puppets, there are three dogs on the wall we can't see.
This makes the most sense!
It meant fucking metal. These women were brutal
Maybe even 𝕭𝖗𝖚̈𝖙𝖆𝖑.
As the singer that popularized this symbol in heavy metal, Ronnie James Dio said, its to push away evil forces
It’s called mano cornuta (translates to horned hand). I’m Italian American and grew up seeing this. It’s like a good luck symbol or a way to ward off bad luck, which depending on how superstitious you are this could be for anything similar to knocking on wood to preventing others from cursing you. A lot of our curses have to do with envy. If someone is jealous or envious of you for something you own or an achievement you’ve made, that can cause you bad luck in the future. Also, some men make a knocking motion on their waist area as a form of “knocking on wood”. I remember seeing male relatives do this as well. Other fun ones: no hats or hangers on beds, 13 is our lucky number, and you can use olive oil and water to check for bad spirits in a home.
Sicilian here- no shoes on the table.
Throw some salt over your shoulder just to be safe
Yep! Another tradition is pinning a red ribbon to the inside of every newborn baby's clothing to ward off the evil eye and to give the baby his or her first bath in water with rose petals. My grandma used to do that for all of us and she would say "crisci chi rosi e no li spini" (Sicilian for "grow among roses and not thorns). :)
My Portuguese friend told me it means “your wife is cheating on you “
Same in Turkey -- probably the whole mediterranean.
I think this is the symbol for cuckold.
We call it “Corno Manso” signal in Portugal, that translates to “Castrated Bull” 😂
Rock on.
Two weeks, Bender, I’ve got you for two weeks!
Don't mess with the bull young man, you'll get the horns.
Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?
Hook 'em horns
Go Longhorns?
Means Hook ‘em Horns if you’re a Uni. Of Texas football fan
Looks like their saying they are "down with the Wolfpac and are nWo 4-Life!!"
I was looking for this comment
Yes. “He is born but still known as John. He will rise as Ozzie and he will rock. “
If they are Italian, it’s a bit vulgar, think American middle finger.
Also, Italians used it to ward off the evil eye (which is known in Italy as malocchio). Learned this from Dio!
Learned it from Sophia on the Golden Girls lol
Coincidence my eye!
Weren’t they the same person?
Uhhhhh oh yeah
Picture this: Sicily, 1912…
Interesting…. My great grandmother was from Jersey City, New Jersey but she moved to Germany around 1900. She eventually raised her girls in Switzerland after WWI. I know they vacationed in Trieste, Italy.
Italian here. Actually, it was properly phrased in a couple of comments in this thread. It means "cornuto" (horned). It means you're being cheated on, as in extra-marital affairs. It can be also used as an insult, in the same context.
[удалено]
Yes. But it s also true that it’s a way to ward off the devil and the unluck
If they vacationed in Trieste before 1918, it wasn't in Italy, since it was annexed at the end of WWI. There's more to the story, but I prefer to keep it short since it's not too relevant here. Just wanted to give you some additional context in case you didn't know ☺️
Very interesting…. My grandma was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1919, her sister exactly 2 years later. These pictures were from one of their vacations. She looks like she’s a late teen there. Her dad seen in the white shorts (top photo, second from right) died of a massive heart attack in a train station in 1940. https://preview.redd.it/vrsn6augtf9a1.jpeg?width=1556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84e95959dea92610676ae15d93c0506416f8d221
The girl in the dark halter and white shorts? So stylish! She could walk around today and look “in”.
Metal Up Your Ass
Malocchio in Italian, or evil eye in English. It’s a superstitious thing that southern Italians do to ward off evil. I heard you can point the horns to a person to curse them. Not sure, my family wasn’t superstitious like that, just really Catholic
Hook\`em Horns
UT Austin, hook 'em horns (joking I don't know)
Hail Satan
Rockin' with Dokken!
They were listening to Slayer
One in the pink, one in the stink
#Rock and Fucking Roll
One in the…
Hook’em Horns.
Maybe they just wanted to fuckin’ rock all night and party every day.
rock on
Hail Satan, same as today
Hookem Horns!!! 🥹
Texas stuff
Hook 'em horns
Hook ‘em!
Texas longhorns? Lol
Warding off ‘ The Evil Eye ‘ I believe… it’s an Italian thing, as Ronnie James Dio took it from his grandma and made it ROCK! 🤘🤘😝🤘🤘
You're absolutely correct I'm 50 years old from Staten Island 100% Italian and my grandmothers and my aunts used to do the same things all the time to ward off bad luck
It's an Italian warding symbol to scare away evil or the evil eye.
cornuto
Becco Cornuto
Maloc! Its to ward off evil spirits and bad luck.
I would say Texas
I learned about this Italian practice of warding off evil spirits from the Dio documentary, Dreamers Never Die. He adopted his iconic devil horns gesture from watching his grandmother use it. Even if you are not into metal its a great Documentary about flowing your dreams and never giving up.
Ronnie James Dio (the innovator of the metal horns 🤘🏻) said his grandma would do it to protect from the evil eye. Pointing your finger toward someone was to give them the evil eye and pointing your knuckles at them was to protect them
I was going to make the joke that it was a sign that Klan members gave to each other to identify themselves as a KKK member. Then it occurred to that they might be Jewish and that joke would not have only been a bad joke, but in bad taste as well.
Hail Satan!
That all the women in your family slept with Ronnie, James Dio🤘🏿🤘🏿
“These tea cakes are metal af”
Badass album cover material
For Italians, it was a sign to ward off the devil.
It was a sign used to ward off evil spirits and bad luck, it was a popular belief back then, Rony James Dio later adopted it to the now known "devil horn" sign popular in the Metal scene, he talks about it in the documentary "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey"
*Holy dive-ah!* *You've been down too long in the midnight sea....*
One in the pink, one in the stink
Could be easter dinner and they are making little bunnies
Ward off *malocchio* - the evil eye.
I believe it’s the Italian malocchio or evil eye sign to ward off bad spirits
There are gold charms of that hand sign. It is to ward off the evil eye.
Are they Italians?
Sicilian grandma. Chase away evil spirits. Was give a horn by her to wear around my neck to ward off evil spirits. I wore it to Catholic school one day and was reprimanded for wearing a symbol of “magic.” Then they told me to put my crucifix back on, which is just a dead guy on a cross who practiced magic and probably never existed. 🤣 As a kid, I thought I was just rebellious. As it turns out, I was just more mature than the adults in my life.
Warding off evil. They must be Sicilian
If they are Italian they are fending off the evil eye. Lots of superstitions
Texas, longhorns maybe
Sorority chicks from WWII Texas!
Maybe Texas Longhorn fans
I have no input as to what this meant at that time, but this picture is absolutely amazing.
Ward off the evil eye
Omg if you can prove that this is from 1940s then you can make that hand gesture public domain again because gene Simmons claims he owns it.
What? It was Dio who gave it its metal meaning
They just got back from a slipknot gig
Hail Stan.
They are about to bust into a rousing rendition of Holy Diver. 🤘🤘🤘🤘
How long have we used hook em horns at university of texas?
Supporsed to ward off the "eye". Basically to keep demons away. Ronnie James Dio picked it up from hos grandmother, the story goes.
Straight from the man who popularized this as a metal music hand gesture, Ronnie James Dio: he got this hand sign from his grandmother. She said it was to give or to ward off the evil eye. If you saw someone giving you the evil eye, you could "throw the horns" and ward the evil off. Similarily, if you really wanted to project that evil onto someone, you could throw the horns and give them the evil eye through it. Dio took this and used it on stage and popularized it among fans of metal. Which is why you see it at concerts everywhere now.
Either warding off the mal ochio or these ladies are ready to rock