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We all know shaking hands or a handshake. There, we 'shake hands'.

There's one more gesture I do. I gently punch other's fist.

Something like this -

courtesy -dreamstime.com

What do we call this gesture as a noun?

They close the deal with a handshake

The close the deal with (a?) ____________

Also, as a verb?

Whenever we meet, we shake hands

Whenever we meet, we ___________

If there's no single word, a couple would do.

ColleenV
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Maulik V
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    it's called bro fist –  Apr 14 '16 at 06:33
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    I know it's hypothetical, but I don't think anyone would close a deal with a fist bump. That's just not formal. Whenever we meet, we do a fist bump. – Usernew Apr 14 '16 at 06:41
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    @Usernew Maybe if it was a drug deal... – Brice M. Dempsey Apr 14 '16 at 08:25
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    @BriceM.Dempsey That paints a hilarious mental picture. "You got the goods?" "Yeah man, pound it." – DJMcMayhem Apr 14 '16 at 17:36
  • @Usernew there could be many such deals. You do me a favor...I do you the same... deal? First Bump! – Maulik V Apr 15 '16 at 05:15
  • @MaulikV Yes, but it's not formal. It's not something you would see happening to finalise a deal. – Usernew Apr 15 '16 at 06:50
  • Don't think that you always meet serious people! @Usernew At least, I'm lucky in that case! – Maulik V Apr 15 '16 at 07:02
  • I don't understand what you mean by Don't think that you always meet serious people! If you are saying that serious people do close a deal with a fistbump, then, probably, you are living in a different world. :) Yes, you might fist bump with your colleagues as a "hello" or "goodbye," but closing a deal with a fist bump? That's absurd. @MaulikV – Usernew Apr 15 '16 at 07:31
  • You are stretching too much on the word deal! Better we focus on the naming gesture. Anyway, first bump is what I was looking for. :) @Usernew And, BTW, I said serious people don't* close deal with a fist bump! – Maulik V Apr 15 '16 at 07:52
  • Handshakes don't really close important deals, written contacts do. If a particular deal is insignificant enough that a handshake alone is enough then possibly a fist bump would be an acceptable alternative in some circles. – nnnnnn Jun 04 '16 at 00:48

5 Answers5

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It's called a fist bump.

It's also known as pound or dap.

enter image description here

shin
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9

I agree with the dominant answer, but to be a tad more pedantic:

We call this gesture, as a noun:

They close the deal with a handshake.

The close the deal with a fist-bump.

As a verb:

Whenever we meet, we shake hands.

Whenever we meet, we bump fists.

QED.

ps: A fist-bump is demonstrably cleaner than a handshake, epidemiologically.

Alpinwolf
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Aside from the more formal "fist bump", a more slang term is brofist. this term is quite popular online, to the point that major Youtube celebrity Pewdiepie made it part of the title of his videogame.

Nzall
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  • +1 for mentioning Pewdiepie. It is also quite often heard and seen in TV serials. – Usernew Apr 14 '16 at 13:22
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    I think the term is only popular because of Pewdiepie, because it only got big within the last year. Overall, "fist bump" is still the clear leader. (Actually, "dap" might be even more common, but it's hard to search for, since it has a lot of other meanings too.) – stangdon Apr 14 '16 at 15:19
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    For what it's worth, I'm a native speaker in my 20's and I have never heard "brofist" or "dap". There might be specific subcultures or regions where these terms are more prevalent or less prevalent. – Era Apr 14 '16 at 17:26
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    "Brofist" may be a more online term; it's definitely very young. "Dap" is better known in African American communities, dates back to the 1970s, and encompasses options more complex than the fist bump. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giving_dap – Russell Borogove Apr 14 '16 at 21:10
  • I don't think Pewdiepie invented the term brofist; I've been using it for over a decade, though maybe that was a regional expression until he exposed it to more people. – Will Apr 15 '16 at 15:48
  • 'Dap' is how I knew it growing up (Dallas, Texas, went to a middle school with a large African American population). Fist-bump is a good generic term that most anybody should understand. However, if you're saying "Bro?" or "Bro." when you do it, it's definitely a brofist. Lastly, if you're a Fox News anchor you might call it a Terrorist Fist-Jab. – Tofystedeth Apr 15 '16 at 16:17
  • What is a Pewdiepie and how do you pronounce it? – shoover Apr 15 '16 at 17:14
  • Fist-bump was popular long before Pewdiepie, generally as a form of congratulations. A handshake is more appropriate for closing a deal. –  Apr 15 '16 at 15:37
  • @shoover Pewdiepie is the biggest Youtube celebrity of this moment, with over 43 million subscribers and counting; pew and pie are pronounced as the English words, die is pronounced in a German style. – Nzall Apr 15 '16 at 21:08
  • At least where I live (Germany, big city) brofist is quite well-known for 3yrs or so. Also a maybe not-so-well-established source, yet still interesting: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bro-fist – ljrk Apr 16 '16 at 09:07
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If your business is with a male fan of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, then it is customary to seal the deal with a "brohoof" - again, this is just for brony business.

Urban Dictionary:

brohoof: Friendly gesture between one brony and another in the form of connecting knuckles together (or hoofs).

Maulik V
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Brohoof
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  • +1 thanks for sharing this. Quite new to me. I added the reference to improve it. – Maulik V Apr 15 '16 at 07:05
  • This is true, but I'm not sure this is so much a different term as it is just an adapted version of "brofist". Both the fandom and characters in the TV show itself often substitute human-centric terms for words more suited to ponies. (E,g, "clap your hands" -> "clop your hooves", "everybody" -> "everypony", etc) "Hoof bump" would also be acceptable here, for example. – Ajedi32 Apr 15 '16 at 13:56
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They closed the deal with a handshake. The closed the deal with (a) fistbump.

Whenever we meet, we shake hands. Whenever we meet, we fistbump.

This is a really informal gesture, so I don't think it could be used to close deals. Since it's informal, I don't think there's any proper conjugation for it either, but it would probably follow the conjugation of the word bump.

cathygomez
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