The handshake

[Lulletje Rozewater]

I do not like shaking someone's hand.
Friends I hug.
Women I sniff and kiss,if it is Opium or Estee Lauder I kiss twice,if it is tobacco I just sniff

[Aemma]

In a very formal setting/complete strangers/professional setting, I shake hands: firm, full palm and a couple of good pumps. None of this limpy stuff for me either.

But most other occasions, I hug and kiss, hello and goodbye! I'm French Canadian!! This is what we do!! (Plus, I'm a pretty touchy-feely person by nature anyway). Most of you here would be getting a hug from me as opposed to a handshake, so I guess you'll never know what my handshake is like.

[Allenson]

New person/stranger: Handshake.
Male friend/male relative: Handshake and a manly embrace.
Female stranger: A gentle handshake, perhaps a kiss if instigated by the female.
Female friend/female relative: A hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Exactly what we do around here except for the insigated kiss from a newly met woman.

Although, after several rounds at the bar......

And yep, nothing worse than a mealy handshake from another fellow.

[Equinox]

I shake hands with strangers in the conventional way.

For my close friends or family we over-reach past the hand, holding the other's wrist in a solid embrace.

Women are hugged almost without exception. Otherwise a gentle handshake tends to suffice.

[Mesrine]

In France, we kiss each other on the cheeks. It's our Arabic side.

[Loki]

I would readily shake someone's hand, unless I notice that his hand is sweaty. Then I'll try to shy away in a discreet manner ... unless of course it's unavoidable, like going to a job interview. But in that case, I will sit through the entire interview, longing to go to the washroom to wash my hands. I like my hands to be clean at all times. Also for this reason, I never hold onto the bars on the London Underground with my bare hands.

[Jamt]

I would readily shake someone's hand, unless I notice that his hand is sweaty. Then I'll try to shy away in a discreet manner ... unless of course it's unavoidable, like going to a job interview. But in that case, I will sit through the entire interview, longing to go to the washroom to wash my hands. I like my hands to be clean at all times. Also for this reason, I never hold onto the bars on the London Underground with my bare hands.

The hands of a banker will never be clean, Loki.

Also the attitude of not wanting to get your hands dirty may be a sign of laziness and un-Vikingness.

[Loki]

The hands of a banker will never be clean, Loki.

Also the attitude of not wanting to get your hands dirty may be a sign of laziness and un-Vikingness.

Well I am not a Viking, so that would make sense. But as for laziness ... I cannot be charged with that, all my previous employers will tell you that.

[Poltergeist]

Are we talking here about the real historical Vikings or Hollywood Vikings?

[Liffrea]

One or two shakes is enough…….works for handshakes as well, no need to go over board with it. Faggot shakes like limp wrists and those freaks who grab your fingers instead of your palm annoy me.

It’s just social etiquette, I don’t like people who don’t look me in the eye, I immediately don’t trust a damn word they say, plus it’s rude. Equally annoying are the muppets who want to turn it into a contest of stare out…..some people just don’t understand how to behave properly.

I don’t mind hugs and kisses from women but I wouldn’t be comfortable if a man tried it, I understand it’s the norm in some countries but still…..