Wikipedia

High five

For other uses, seeHigh five (disambiguation)andGive me five (disambiguation).

Thehigh fiveis ahand gesturewhereby two people simultaneously raise one hand and slap the flat of their palm against the other.[2]The gesture is often preceded verbally by a phrase like "Give me five", "High five", or "Up top". Its meaning varies with the context of use but can include as a greeting, congratulations, or celebration.

A high five between twoU.S. NavySailors
NASA'sCuriosity-roverteam celebrate with high fives after the landing on Mars, August 2012. Variations seen include: the two-handed high-five; the top-shake swagger; the high-five gauntlet; the air-five; the high-five left hanging.[1]

There are many origin stories of the high five,[3]but the first and two most documented candidates areDusty BakerandGlenn Burkeof theLos Angeles Dodgersprofessional baseball team on October 2, 1977, andWiley BrownandDerek Smithof theLouisville Cardinalsmen's college basketball team during the 1978–1979 season.[4][5]

Origin

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The gesture might have originated in American professional sports. Photo ofDrew Storen(right) andWilson Ramosof theWashington Nationalsin 2011.

The use of the phrase as a noun has been part of theOxford English Dictionarysince 1980 and as a verb since 1981.[6]The phrase is related to the slang "give me five" which is a request for some form of handshake – variations include "slap me five", "slip me five", "give me (some) skin" – with "five" referring to the number of fingers on a hand.[2]The "high five" originated from the "low five",which has been a part of African-American culture since the 1920s.[4]The exact transition from a low five to a high is unknown, though many theories exist about its inception.[4]Magic Johnsononce suggested that he invented the high five at Michigan State, presumably in the late 1970s. Others have suggested it originated in the women's volleyball circuit of the 1960s.[4]

Glenn Burke and Dusty Baker

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For decades, the "conventional wisdom"[4]has been that the origin of the high five occurred betweenDusty BakerandGlenn Burkeof theLos Angeles DodgersatDodger Stadiumon October 2, 1977, the last day of the regular season.[4]In the sixth inning, Dusty Baker hit ahome runoffHouston AstrospitcherJ. R. Richard.It was Baker's 30th home run, making the Dodgers the first team in history to have four hitters with at least 30 home runs each in a single season.[7]As journalist Jon Mooallem tells the story:

It was a wild, triumphant moment and a good omen as the Dodgers headed to the playoffs. Burke, waiting on deck, thrust his hand enthusiastically over his head to greet his friend at the plate. Baker, not knowing what to do, smacked it. "His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back," says Baker... "So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do."[4]

This story regarding the origin of the high five can be found in the written news as early as September 1982 and is featured in theESPN30 for 30filmThe High Fivedirected by Michael Jacobs.[8]After retiring from baseball, Burke, who was one of the first openly gay professional athletes, used the high five with other gay residents of theCastro districtofSan Francisco,and it became a symbol ofgay pride.[4]

Louisville Cardinals

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Another origin story, first reported in 1980,[9]places it at aUniversity of Louisville Cardinalsbasketball practice during the 1978–1979 season.[4]ForwardWiley Brownwent to give a low five to his teammateDerek Smith,but suddenly Smith looked Brown in the eye and said, "No. Up high." Brown thought, "Yeah, why are we staying down low? We jump so high," raised his hand and the high five was supposedly born.[4]High fives can be seen in highlight reels of the 1978–1979 Louisville team.[4]During a telecast of a 1980 game, announcerAl McGuireshouted: "Mr. Brown came to play! And they're giving him the high-five handshake. High five!"[4][10]

Magic Johnson

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Magic Johnsonclaims that he invented the high five. He provides no date or location for invention, only that it was a thing that he and teammateGreg Kelserdid on occasion while playing forMichigan State.He did not give it a name, and asserts that Baker–Burke did not invent the high five.[11]

Hoax origin claimed by comedy writers

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In a 2007 press release, two comedy writers and founders of the "National High Five Day" claimed that a late 1970s and early '80s basketball player fromMurray State Universityhad invented the gesture. They also concocted an elaborate and involved story about this player as a young boy learning the gesture from his father. But in a 2013ESPNarticle, the pair admitted that it had been a publicity stunt. Per the article, the two had "scoured college basketball rosters to plug in a name."[4][12]

Antecedents

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Antecedents of the physical gesture of slapping palms together predate the 1970s,[13][unreliable source?][14]when the high five is believed to have been coined. For example, it can be seen in the 1960 FrenchNouvelle vaguemovieBreathless.[15]

Conventional wisdomholds that the Tokyo district ofRoppongiearned the slogan of "High Touch Town" after residents noticed World War II American soldiers walking the streets giving each other high-fives; when the Japanese asked about the gesture it was mistranslated ashai tatchior "high touch".[16]This story is possiblyapocryphal,as Hiroyuki Usui, a representative of the Roppongi Shopkeepers Promotion Association explains, "There is no deep meaning in 'High Touch Town'. People don't know what it means." The term "high touch town" may have originated before the high five and had a different meaning, or 'high touch' may mean "high class", a play on the town's reputation for nightlife activity among off-duty military personnel.[17]

Variations

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In addition to the classic high five several other types of high five exist.

Edwin Encarnación(left) andMichael Saundersof theToronto Blue Jaysexecuting a two-handed high five in 2016

If one initiates a high five (or any variation thereof) by offering a hand(s), and no reciprocal hand appears to consummate the gesture, the initiator is said to have been "left hanging".[18]This could be interpreted as an insult, friendly joke or form of enlightenment, depending on the context of its use.

Another variation is the "self high five." The action consists of raising one hand, generally the right hand, and tagging it with the other. It was often used byDiamond Dallas Pageas part of his persona, such as in his WCW theme song "Self High Five."[19]A variation of this variation was explored by Turkish artist Deniz Ozuygur who built a "Self High-five Machine," which was exhibited in New York City in 2010. It is a robotic arm that spins in circles striking another robotic arm, both of which are rubber casts of Ozuygur's own arms.[20]

A hand grab is when one or both parties grab and hold, sometimes even shaking around the opposing parties hand while still up high. The variation can be used to indicate friendship and/or personal swagger.[21][1]A two-handed high five is as the name suggests the same as a high five but two handed.[22][1]A back end is when a normal high is followed through by swinging the arms around to slap together down low.[23]Some will pass through a gauntlet while giving two hand high fives through a line of people.[24]

Too slow

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The "too slow" variation is a sequence of high five and low five, often accompanied by a rhyme such as "Up High. Down Low..."[25][26]During the down low sequence, the initiator will surprise the counter-party by pulling their hand back at the last moment, tricking the other person into swiping at empty air, completing the rhyme with "Too slow!"[27]There are variations on this theme, with additions of "to the side" and other hand positions for the partner to contact the initiator's hand.[28]

  • "Up high."
  • "Down low."
  • Victim misses.
  • "Too slow!" (withfinger-guns)

The origin of the too slow variation has not been established, but the earliest documented instance is a 1982 news article in theEvansville Courier & Press.A robot named Fubar interacted with customers: "'Gimme three brother' he tells a shopper as he extends a golden hand with that many fingers. Then with a rapid-fire retort he confuses the greeter with" Take It back! Up high! Down low! Too slow! "[29]Other notable sources have made reference to it; for example a 1983 journal is quoted as saying, "Whether we hammer, or hoe, whoop or holler, as they say, slap five up high, down low, you're too slow, we do it with the rhythmic motif that leads to harmony."[30]The title song forLay on Five,aBBC children's television programmebroadcast in 1985–86 featuringFloella Benjamin,ended "..too slow to Lay on Five."[31]The too slow variation is in the 1987 filmThe Principalin a scene where Principal Rick Latimer (James Belushi) does it to Arturo Diego (Jacob Vargas).[32]In theNew York Timesarchives, the earliest reference is from 1993 whenArnold Schwarzeneggerdid it with the son of a film-crew member while on the set ofLast Action Hero,saying: "Let's have five. Five high. Five low," at which point Schwarzenegger pulled his hand away saying "Too slow." The boy reportedly laughed.[25]Schwarzenegger did it originally in the 1991 filmTerminator 2: Judgment Day,when John Connor (Edward Furlong) teaches the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) to "Gimme five. Up high, down low, too slow."[33]In 2008,They Might Be Giantsreleased the song "High Five!" on an album for children titledHere Come the 123s,with lyrics "High five! Low five! Slap me five! Down low! Too slow!," a gesture described in the song as "old school"[34]a slang term usually meaning something from a prior generation.[35]

The rhyme bears a striking resemblance to a very oldwork song,possibly medieval, used by blacksmiths to teach apprentices how to best operate a bellows in a way that maximized its efficiency by opening it fully and quickly, while closing it slowly. The didactic rhyme is "Up high. Down low. Up quick. Down slow; And that's the way to blow."[36][37]

Air five

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Two women engaging in an air five

An air five is a variation where the hands of the participants never actually touch, needing only line of sight to make the gesture.[38]It has an advantage for participants who are otherwise too far apart to achieve physical contact at the moment of the gesture. The participants may simply pretend to high five, or add an imitation sound of hand slapping. Also known as thewi-five,a mix of "wireless" and "high five" with a pun onWi-Fi,a wireless computer technology.[39][40]

Celebrations

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National High Five Day is a project to give out high fives and is typically held on the third Thursday in April.[41]According to the National High Five Project, the event began in 2002 at theUniversity of Virginiaafter a group of students set up a booth and gave out high-fives and lemonade.[42]The project has held events where participants take part in a "high-five-a-thon" to raise funds for charity.[43][44]

Human health

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New York State SenatorsVelmanette MontgomeryandJoe Griffohigh five each other in the senate chamber.

A 2014 medical study found thatfist bumpsand high fives spread fewer germs thanhandshakes.[45][46][47]

During theCOVID-19 pandemic,the high-five was "singled out, stigmatized and fraught with anxiety", being replaced by gestures such as knocking elbows, tapping forearms, or clicking cleats. For example, college conferences banned the high-five; the Yankees informally resolved to bump elbows instead of slapping hands; the Minnesota Twins banned physical contact with fans. Outside of sports, individuals reported avoiding the high-five in their daily lives.[48]Dusty Baker, the presumed originator of the gesture, advocated for contactless high-fives.[49]

References

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  1. ^abc"Outtake of celebrations after NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars".NASA. August 6, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-22.RetrievedOctober 10,2020– via YouTube.
  2. ^abSpears, Richard A. (2007)."High five".Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions (4th Ed).McGraw Hill.ISBN978-0071461078.
  3. ^Bob Brigham (1995)."The Man Who Invented the High-Five".The Diamond Angle.Outsports (2003).RetrievedJuly 25,2014.
  4. ^abcdefghijklmJon Mooallem."The history and mystery of the high five",ESPN,29 July 2011
  5. ^"The Gay History of the High Five".2012-04-19.Retrieved2017-03-06.
  6. ^"High Five Me web site".Highfive.me.uk. Archived fromthe originalon June 6, 2014.Retrieved2013-02-04.
  7. ^Newhan, Ross (3 October 1977). "The Gang of Four: Garvey.... 33 Smith..... 32 Cey...... 30 Baker..... 30".Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^Harvey, Randy (18 September 1982). "Tired of Torment, Burke Searches for Inner Peace".Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^Benagh, Jim (1 September 1980). "SportsWorld specials; Shake, shake, shake".The New York Times.
  10. ^Louisville vs UCLA 1980 NCAA Championship at 1:00:09,YouTube,Uploaded on April 5, 2013. Last accessed Dec 2019.
  11. ^"Magic Johnson says he invented high five with Michigan State teammate Greg Kelser".cincinnati. 2024-06-06.
  12. ^"National High Five Project".National High Five Project. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-01-12.Retrieved2013-02-04.
  13. ^"First high five in cinema history?".Mubi.Archived fromthe originalon August 8, 2014.RetrievedJuly 30,2014.
  14. ^"Inventor of the high five".MetaFilter.July 25, 2014.RetrievedJuly 30,2014.See comments for links to further examples.
  15. ^Breathlessat 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 23 seconds when two men part ways.
  16. ^Richard Lloyd Parry (2012).People Who Eat Darkness: The True Story of a Young Woman Who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo.Macmillan. p. 76.ISBN9780374230593.RetrievedJuly 28,2014.
  17. ^"High brow trumps 'High Touch' in Roppongi".Tokyo Reporter.August 20, 2008.RetrievedJuly 28,2014.
  18. ^Neil Pasricha.The Book of Awesome,Penguin, 2010.p. 206.
  19. ^Diamond Dallas Page WCW Theme "Self High Five" | TNLWrestling,YouTube,Uploaded by TNLWrestling on Oct 22, 2011. Last accessed April 2012.
  20. ^Duncan Geere (July 19, 2010)."Never get left hanging with the Self High-five Machine".Wired.Archived fromthe originalon August 24, 2010.RetrievedJuly 25,2014.
  21. ^"How to celebrate National High Five Day: Grab the other person's hand afterwards".CBS News.16 April 2015.RetrievedOctober 10,2020.
  22. ^"How to celebrate National High Five Day: Use both hands".CBS News.16 April 2015.RetrievedOctober 10,2020.
  23. ^"How to celebrate National High Five Day: Follow through on the back end".CBS News.16 April 2015.RetrievedOctober 10,2020.
  24. ^"How to celebrate National High Five Day: Run down a whole line of high fives".CBS News.16 April 2015.RetrievedOctober 10,2020.
  25. ^ab"ON THE SET WITH – Arnold Schwarzenegger; Big Guy. Big Star. Big Deal, Baby.",Bernard Weinraub,The New York Times,March 4, 1993.
  26. ^"High Five!",a song byThey Might Be Giantsfrom the albumHere Come the 123s(2008).
  27. ^Robison, Jim. "Handshakes Complicate Simple Greetings."Orlando Sentinel,1985-09-15, p. 6.
  28. ^Elizabeth Tucker.Children's Folklore: A Handbook,Greenwood Publishing Group, 2008.p. 55
  29. ^Greer, Bill (February 24, 1982)."Gimme Three. For this wisecracking robot, clownin' around is mechanical".Evansville Courier & Press.Evansville, Indiana.p. 1.Retrieved2024-04-03.
  30. ^"Too slow".Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.15–16: 176. 1983.
  31. ^"Lay on Five".Film & TV Database.British Film Institute.Archived fromthe originalon 28 May 2009.Retrieved5 May2012.
  32. ^The too slow variation is in the official trailer ofThe Principalat 1 min 40 seconds.The Principal traileronYouTube
  33. ^Terminator 2: Judgment Day(1991).
  34. ^High Five!,lyrics
  35. ^See "old school,"The Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English,Routledge, 2008. p. 713.ISBN978-0-415-37182-7
  36. ^R. A. Salaman (1977)."Rhymes from Hertfordshire".harpenden-history.org.uk.RetrievedMay 22,2020.
  37. ^B. F. Skinner(1974).About Behaviorism.Knopf. p.122.ISBN0394492013.
  38. ^Torbjörn Lundmark.Tales of Hi and Bye: Greeting and Parting Rituals Around the World,Cambridge University Press, 2009.p. 73
  39. ^Aaron Peckham.Urban Dictionary: Freshest Street Slang Defined,Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2012. p. 248
  40. ^Aaron Peckham.Mo' Urban Dictionary: Ridonkulous Street Slang Defined,Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009. p. 226
  41. ^"Celebrate".National High Five Day.Retrieved2013-02-04.
  42. ^"It's National High Five Day! Celebrate with Tom Brady's most awkward high fives".USA Today. 16 April 2015.Retrieved6 October2015.
  43. ^Jones, Nate."It's National High Five Day! Meet the Man Who (Probably) Invented the Celebration".People.Retrieved6 October2015.
  44. ^"National High-Five Day dedicated to those affected by Boston Marathon bombings - Back Bay - Your Town - Boston".2013-04-20. Archived fromthe originalon 20 April 2013.Retrieved2022-01-13.
  45. ^Kaplan, Karen (28 July 2014)."Fist bumps, high-fives spread fewer germs than handshakes, study says".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved6 March2017.
  46. ^"Health Index".ABC News.Retrieved6 March2017.
  47. ^Mela, S; Whitworth, DE (Aug 2014)."The fist bump: a more hygienic alternative to the handshake"(PDF).Am J Infect Control.42(8): 916–917.doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2014.04.011.PMID25087144.
  48. ^Andrew Keh (March 13, 2020)."In Coronavirus Outbreak, the High-Five Is Left Hanging".The New York Times.RetrievedSeptember 8,2021.
  49. ^Kelly Cohen (May 22, 2020)."Has the coronavirus ruined the high-five?".ESPN.RetrievedSeptember 9,2021.
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