The Nod.

[Tck13]

I've recently started at a new job and "the nod" is everywhere. Do you do this? I never noticed this subculture before.

Now, everywhere I go, I'm nodding at everyone and everyone is nodding at me. It's like a hidden society within our society.

And it's not the "nose / chin UP". That's more of a, "Hey! How are you? Here I come to talk to you!"

It's a quick head down and up. It's an acknowledgement but not a real personal one. It's like a "what's up?" kinda thing.

What does it all mean?

Nods.

It also sounds like the name of a band. Hmmmmm.

 

[celery]

It's kind of like a mini-bow. Like a hatless tipping of a hat (mostly since no one really wears hats anymore).

At least, that's how I see it. But I find it a bit more reasonable that waving your arm.

 

[Brad]

I've always thought the up nod was a "hey, I'm the cat's meow" thing. Shy away from it with your superiors.

 

[Saucemaster]

I do it when entering elevators in my building--all those people who you see every day, but never talk to. It's a way of recognizing and greeting someone without either of you feeling like you're going to be forced to have a meaningless conversation. I like it. Like saying, "I don't dislike you, I just don't want to talk to you." Which, really, I should just have tattooed on my forehead.

I have had discussions about social conventions like this with a few different friends from the Midwest, and they are all uniformly horrified (unless they're from large cities... so, basically, Chicago).

 

[somecallmebj]

I nod. I see it as an understated acknowledgement, especially for acquaintances. To closer friends, I verbally say "Hi" or whatever. I do a two-finger salute sometimes as well. Why and where I picked that up, I have no idea. I don't nod to the ladies though, lol. I actually wave. I don't really think about it, it's just automatic.

 

[ryoneo]

I just nod and smile to others just to make an informal "hello". Just to acknowledge other people with it, is somewhat, enjoyable to me. It also works at the workplace to say hi, but without engaging in an asinine conversation.

 

[bbaquiran]

Filipinos do the reverse nod plus eyebrow raising.

 

[somecallmebj]

Originally Posted by bbaquiran

Filipinos do the reverse nod plus eyebrow raising.

Lol, that's true. We have a lot of weird gestures. Like pointing at stuff with our lips.

 

[slipperywhenwet]

Since I was young I've always done kind of a deep nod, or a half-bow. Being in Korea, I can finally do it without people thinking that I'm weird. In Canada, I would give give a slight nod to friends as we passed each other while on campus, but I usually ended up doing that half-bow.

The "chin-up" was common among my friends in business. I doubt that it's unique to them, but they certainly did it the most. It always looked like they had a bad neck twitch, and it was a particularly bad idea to do it while climbing or descending stairs.

I also do the two-finger salute, but not frequently.

 

[tiecollector]

I raise my eyebrows quickly, but deliberately and then nod my head with the corners of my mouth upturned. Much easier than raising your hand or having to actually use your voice. I wish people still wore hats and could tip their hat as people walked by.

 

[LabelKing]

I ignore people unless I know them personally. Sometimes, I stare at people going past if there is something interesting about them.

 

[merkur]

..

 

[Laffertron]

I nod as well, like other people have said it's a subtle way of acknowledging your colleagues while walking around the office. I know some people who don't do this and they come off as rude to me. Usually though, I'll give someone a "hi how's it going" at the start of the day instead. I couldn't do that more than once in a day because that would just come off as weird and make people uncomfortable.

 

[odoreater]

What's all this crap about nodding? How hard is it when passing someone in the hall to say "Hey Tom, how's it going?" "Good, how are you doing?" "Good." End of conversation.

To me, nodding says "I'm a social marsupial and I can't bring myself to actually say anything so I will just move my head up and down hoping you won't say anything to me."

 

[shoreman1782]

Originally Posted by odoreater

To me, nodding says "I'm a social marsupial and I can't bring myself to actually say anything so I will just move my head up and down hoping you won't say anything to me."

There are people with whom I do not mind leaving this impression of myself.