Eyelid pull
A forefinger pulling down the skin just below one eye. In France and Greece it says “I’m watching, you can’t fool me”; in Italy and Spain it is a friendlier warning, “be alert, that one is clever”.
How to read it
Rick Steves describes the forefinger placed below the centre of the eye, pulling the skin down. In France and Greece, he writes, it means “I am alert. I’m looking. You can’t fool me.” In Italy and Spain it is a friendlier warning: “Be alert, that guy is clever.” AFAR draws the same line, calling it a fairly friendly hint in Spain and Italy to watch out for someone clever, and more ominous in Greece and France, where it says the person is on to you.
Also searched as: eye pull gesture, eye touch gesture, finger under eye gesture, occhio gesture, pulling down eyelid gesture.
A gesture’s meaning changes from place to place and over time. These pages give the meanings recorded by the researchers, reporters and guides they cite, as of October 2026, and are reviewed yearly.
“I am alert” or “you be alert”
Desmond Morris, in Manwatching (1977), called it the Eye Touch. In England and France he found its main meaning to be “You can’t fool me, I see what you are up to”; in Italy it shifts to “Keep your eyes peeled, pay attention, he’s a crook.” The meaning stays one of alertness, he wrote, but moves from “I am alert” to “You be alert”.
The nose tap
Morris found the same kind of shift in the nose tap, a forefinger tapping the side of the nose. Most people in England read it as secrecy or conspiracy; in central Italy it becomes a warning.
Read next
- Next in Hand gesturesCheek screwAn index finger pressed into the cheek and twisted. In Italy it means something is good, beautiful or delicious; in southern Spain the same gesture is an insult that calls a man effeminate.
- The same shape in Accessibility symbolsAccessible Icon (dynamic wheelchair symbol)A wheelchair symbol with the figure leaning forward and an arm swept back on the wheel, from the Accessible Icon Project. It marks the same accessible places as the International Symbol of Access; the project put it in the public domain.
More hand gestures
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with circles or curves and waves.
Sources
- Regional signals, from Manwatching, Desmond Morris, Manwatching (1977), as reproduced for reading practice, UEFAP (Using English for Academic Purposes), Regional signals
- Understanding European Gestures, Rick Steves, read October 2026, Rick Steves’ Europe, Eyelid Pull
- 10 Essential European Hand Gestures to Know, Chris Ciolli, read October 2026, AFAR, Eyelid pull
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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