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High five
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This article is about the gesture. For other uses, see High five (disambiguation).
"Gimme five" redirects here. For the ITV children's show, see Gimme 5.
A high five is a celebratory gesture made by two people, each raising one hand to slap the raised hand of the other — usually meant to communicate to spectators mutual self-satisfaction or to extend congratulations from one person to another. The arms are usually extended into the air to form the "high" part, and the five fingers of each hand meet, thus making the "five".
Several variations on the standard high five exist, in order to add uniqueness to the experience and to maximize satisfaction. For example, one such variation is the "flipside" also called the "windmill"; this method begins like a regular high five, however upon meeting up top, both high-fivers continue to swing their arms downwards until they meet again down low. This method is depicted in the feature film Top Gun repeatedly.
Numbers of participants larger than two, through a variety of techniques, can still perform a single high-five at one time.
It is generally regarded inappropriate for the person who has just done something high-five worthy to initiate the high-five (by putting his or her hand up first), especially if the spectators are not as impressed as the performer of the act is with him or her self. It is considered acceptable when the successes are monumental/exceptionally rare; however, each individual event is subjectively interpreted by the spectators, whose interpretations can differ from that of the performer.
If one initiates a high five by raising a hand into the air and no one consummates the celebration by slapping the raised hand, the initiator is said to be "left hanging." This is considered to be a somewhat embarrassing faux pas.
The high five, although not known by that name, actually appeared as early as 1955. During the November 15, 1955 episode "The Eating Contest" of The Phil Silvers Show, Silvers' character, Sergeant Ernie Bilko, gives what appears to be a high five to another character. Two other individuals linked to the invention of the high five are former baseball player Glenn Burke (along with then teammate Dusty Baker) and former college basketball player Lamont "Mont" Sleets.[1] It is widely regarded as having developed from an earlier expression, the "gimme five!" where the recipient's palm was extended flat in front, and the slapper brought his down to make a clapping sound, accompanied by the phrase "gimme five!" or "gimme some skin!"[1]. Invention of the term "high five" and popularization of the gesture is credited to Derek Smith and the 1980 champion Louisville Cardinals basketball team[2].
The low five, slightly less popular variant of the high five, can be documented as far back as the 1920's. In the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, an ecstatic Al Jolson gives another character the low five upon hearing that he was asked to audition for a Broadway revue.
Other popular variations of the high five include:
Double High Five - Participants slap both hand "up high" at the same time. This is thought to be the precursor to the (now popular) chest bump.
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