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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.

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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.](http://www.google.com/trends/explore?hl=en-US&q=fist+bump,+bro+fist,+brofist&cmpt=q&tz=Etc/GMT%2B4&tz=Etc/GMT%2B4&content=1) (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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