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Among the large number of emoji depicting hand and finger gestures, there are universal emo icons that can be used in different situations and contexts, and there are more specialized ones, suitable for specific messages and emotions. Today we tell you about just one of them – the Rock On Emoji. Everyone who goes to rock concerts knows this gesture: pinky and index fingers stick out, middle and ring fingers are pressed to the palm. But where did it come from and does it have any additional meanings? Let’s find out!
🤘 The Rock On Gesture emoticon was assigned the code U+1F918, with which it was added to the People and Body section of the Unicode 8.0 standard in 2015.
Rock On is an iconic gesture in rock culture. No less iconic than the person who popularized the gesture. We are talking about the famous vocalist Ronnie James Dio. The musician was taught the gesture by his grandmother, a superstitious Italian woman. According to Dio’s memories, she used to fold her fingers if she met gypsies and other suspicious people, and explained to her grandson that this protected him from “malocchio” (malocchio), the “evil eye”.
Originally, this combination of fingers had a negative connotation. In the Middle Ages, when there was an active hunt for witches and witches, the sign “goat” denoted a non-verbal greeting between people with superpowers.
Someone saw in this gesture horns of the devil, someone – the devil’s number 666, but with a harmless pet then in no way associated this figure. Moreover, there was a period when it was even forbidden to use it.
Later, the interpretation of such a gesture has changed dramatically, they began to use it as a defense against the evil eye, witches and evil forces. Superstitious people not only folded their fingers in a peculiar way, but also made themselves amulets in the form of a hand with bent middle and ring fingers and worn around the neck as a talisman to ward off evil spirits.
The “Rock On” gesture was attributed protective properties and people, going on a long journey or to war, took such an amulet with them as an amulet of protection.
Today, “Rock On” is a symbol of rock music. In the early 80’s musician Ronnie Dio showed this figure at his concert as a sign of approval and unification of all those who love rock, thus introducing the fashion for this gesture. Now this sign is used by many musicians and representatives of subcultures.
So, in what cases would it be logical to use Rock On Emoji? Of course, first of all, in any posts and messages related to rock music. Everyone knows that attendees of rock concerts throw their hands up in a gesture called “Rock On”. It is believed that the index finger and pinky symbolize the Latin letter U and it stands for “unity”, just as the index and middle finger stand for the letter V or “victory”. By showing this gesture, the person is saying – “I am with you”.
There is a version that “Rock On” is a slightly modified phrase of the deaf-mute language ILY (I love you) – “I love you”. It looks like a fist, with the little finger, index finger and thumb out. Proponents of this interpretation believe that rock music fans express their love for the performers in this way.
But in Italy, “Rock On” should not be shown to anyone: it is analogous to the word “cuckold”, and therefore people will think that you are hinting at someone’s infidelity. You should know that “Rock On” with fingers pointing upwards can be taken as a serious insult by Italians.
As you can see, even such iconic gestures as Rock On, which today are not perceived in any other context, have a deep history, during which the meanings of the gesture have changed and were originally as far from the way it is perceived today as possible. And the cultural differences of different countries play an important role.