{
  "id": "culture/moutza-open-palm-gesture",
  "signature": "AI tells a traveler that waving hello, hailing a taxi, or showing the number five with an open palm and spread fingers is a neutral gesture in Greece",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(open palm.*greece|wave.*hello.*greece|hail.*taxi.*greece|show.*five.*fingers.*greece|moutza)",
  "domain": "culture",
  "category": "cultural_taboo",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "The open-palm, fingers-spread gesture (moutza) is one of Greece's most offensive insults, tracing to a Byzantine public-shaming practice. An ordinary wave, taxi-hail, or 'five' shown with the palm facing another person reads as a deliberate insult, not a neutral signal.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Wave hello, hail a taxi, or show 'five' by raising an open hand with fingers spread toward the other person",
      "why_fails": "The gesture is the moutza: an open palm with spread fingers thrust toward someone's face or body, historically tied to a Byzantine practice of smearing ash or excrement on an offender's face as public shaming. Presenting it toward another person reads as a targeted insult regardless of the sender's intent, and taxi drivers in particular will often refuse to stop for a raised open palm.",
      "fail_rate": 0.5,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.islands.com/1784578/avoid-common-hand-america-gesture-traveling-greece-country/",
        "https://www.explore.com/1775798/showing-palm-hand-greece-big-no-rude/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Wave with fingers held together (not spread) or slightly bent, use a thumbs-up, or turn the palm toward yourself when showing a number",
      "success_rate": 0.9,
      "how": "To hail a taxi or greet someone, keep the fingers together rather than fully splayed, or use a closed-fist wave. To show the number five, face the palm toward your own body instead of toward the other person.",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.explore.com/1775798/showing-palm-hand-greece-big-no-rude/",
        "https://www.islands.com/1784578/avoid-common-hand-america-gesture-traveling-greece-country/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": []
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.3,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.85,
  "resolvable": "partial",
  "first_seen": "2026-09-15",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-09-15",
  "last_updated": "2026-09-15",
  "evidence_count": 2,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "culture/moutza-open-palm-gesture/gr"
  ]
}