Work in progress! Native speakers are still checking every phrase. Spot something off? Tell us.
cursing.in curse like a local

Polish · Hands & Trouble · hand gesture

figa z makiem

You get nothing / fat chance — the mocking denial gesture.

1/5 Grandma-safe

mild, playful; fine on daytime TV

The gesture

"Fist with the thumb poking out between index and middle finger — 'a fig with poppy seeds.'"

What your hand is actually doing.

How to use it

The fig sign: thumb threaded between the first two fingers of a closed fist, shown to someone to say "you get nothing" — usually with the phrase attached: "figa z makiem (z pasternakiem)," a fig with poppy seeds (and parsnip), i.e. absolutely nothing, garnished. In Poland it's mocking but childish — parents deploy it on kids demanding candy, friends on friends asking to borrow money — a teasing severity 1, unlike in Turkey, where the same handshape is properly obscene. Cross-border travelers: recalibrate at every frontier.

Heard in the wild

Pożyczysz stówę? Figa z makiem, ostatniej nie oddałeś.

Lend you a hundred? Fat chance — you never paid back the last one.

Where it lands

Poland (universal); NOT obscene here, unlike further east

Quick answers

What does "figa z makiem" mean?
In Polish, "figa z makiem" means "You get nothing / fat chance — the mocking denial gesture.". Literally it's "Fist with the thumb poking out between index and middle finger — 'a fig with poppy seeds.'". The fig sign: thumb threaded between the first two fingers of a closed fist, shown to someone to say "you get nothing" — usually with the phrase attached: "figa z makiem (z pasternakiem)," a fig with poppy seeds (and parsnip), i.e. absolutely nothing, garnished. In Poland it's mocking but childish — parents deploy it on kids demanding candy, friends on friends asking to borrow money — a teasing severity 1, unlike in Turkey, where the same handshape is properly obscene. Cross-border travelers: recalibrate at every frontier.
Is "figa z makiem" offensive?
It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
How do you pronounce "figa z makiem"?
This one's a hand gesture — there's nothing to pronounce. Fist with the thumb poking out between index and middle finger — 'a fig with poppy seeds.'.

Related in Polish

gest Kozakiewicza gesture Up yours — Poland's most famous gesture, with an Olympic gold medal attached. pstryknięcie w szyję gesture Let's drink / he's been drinking — the vodka semaphore. spoko SPOH-koh Chill / no worries / it's fine — the great Polish de-escalator. baran BAH-rahn Idiot / blockhead — the barnyard 'you idiot.' frajer FRY-ehr Sucker / mug / mark — someone who lets himself be played. lamus LAH-mooss Loser / lame-o — the internet generation's put-down.

Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.