The loser is a
hand gesture
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "han ...
made by extending the right thumb and index fingers, leaving the other fingers closed to create the letter L, interpreted as "loser", and generally given as a demeaning sign.
[Armstrong; Wagner (2003), p. 69] Sometimes this is accompanied by raising the hand to the giver's forehead.
The gesture was popular in the 1990s, partly popularized by the 1994 movie ''
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective''.
Usage of an "L" hand sign in specific contexts
In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, the "L" is the
political symbol of voting in Lula da Silva for president. Also, in Brazil,
Germán Cano
Germán Ezequiel Cano Recalde (born 2 January 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense.
Career Lanús and loans
Born in Lomas de Zamora, Cano was a Lanús youth g ...
, soccer player from
Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club () is a Brazilian sports club based in the neighbourhood of Laranjeiras, in Rio de Janeiro, being the oldest football club in the state since its foundation in 1902. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, th ...
, use the L to commemorate when he scores a goal.
Also in Brazil, an "L" handsign is used for cheering for Brazilian
e-sports
Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
players from
LOUD organization (e.g. during "VCT 2023: LOCK // IN" event in São Paulo).
In
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, the "L" denotes allegiance to the
Legia Warszawa
Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...
football club
In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...
.
References
Sources
*
Notes
External links
*
{{Gestures
Hand gestures
1990s fads and trends