[Ads-l] "Talk to the Hand" Query

[Emily Gordon]

Wikipedia has this entry:

Often considered to be sarcastic <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm> or
obnoxious, the phrase was popularized by actor and comedian Martin Lawrence
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Lawrence> in his 1992 sitcom *Martin
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_(TV_series)>*.[3]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_to_the_hand#cite_note-Mobley2004-3> It
was formally reported from as early as 1995, when a local Indianapolis
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis> magazine story noted "Talk to
the hand—The phrase, which means, 'Shut up
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shut_up>', is accompanied by a hand in front
of the victim's face."[4]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_to_the_hand#cite_note-Indianapolis1995-4>

It is usually accompanied by the gesture of extending one arm toward the
other person, with the palm of that hand facing the person being insulted,
in the manner of the gesture to stop. Use of the phrase was noted to be a
passing trend, as Jack Rawlins noted in advising writers against the use of
the slang: "Slang is trendy. Last year every young person I knew was saying
'Talk to the hand'. Now no one even remembers 'Talk to the hand'".[5]
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_to_the_hand#cite_note-5>

Citations:
*[3]* Tyrone Mobley (30 June 2004). *Victims Of The Game: The Manipulation*
<https://books.google.com/books?id=uqn_rH3znpUC&pg=PA50>. AuthorHouse. pp.
49–50. ISBN <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)>
978-1-4184-4686-4
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4184-4686-4>.
Retrieved 3 January 2013. Just look at the contribution giving by Martin
Lawrence, remember 'TALK TO THE HAND,' whether or not he created is not
important, what is important, is that he perpetuated it to the Black masses
as cool and righteous behavior. This little gesture is something that most
negative minded Black woman and now a lot of men have incorporated into
their communication system because they think its cute.
*[4]*  "Slanguage" <https://books.google.com/books?id=MOoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24>
, *Indianapolis Monthly*, vol. 18, no. 14, Emmis Communications, p. 24,
August 1995, ISSN <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)>
0899-0328 <https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0899-0328>, retrieved 3
January 2013
[https://books.google.com/books?id=MOoCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24#v=onepage&q&f=false]
*[5] *Jack Rawlins, *The Writer's Way* (2001), p. 66.

Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk_to_the_hand




On Wed, Jan 14, 2026 at 10:28 PM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:

> >   The phrase "talk to the hand" is widely attributed to Martin
> Lawrence's 1990s sit-com, but I am having trouble
> >   pinpointing episodes where it was used.  Can anyone suggest relevant
> episodes or methods of finding them ?
> >
> >   Fred Shapiro
>
> "Talk to the hand, cause the face ain't listening."
>
> I never watched "Martin", but did start hearing this in the 1990s.  Maybe
> from Fran Drescher on "The Nanny".
>
> One way of searching dialogue is through shooting scripts.  You can often
> google [show title] " script" and find one, but be aware that search
> results may not be 100% accurate — they may be early drafts, or the filmed
> result may be different from on-set changes made after a script is
> finalized.  I've had greater success finding movie scripts than TV scripts.
>
> Another is through subtitle files associated with shows.  The closed
> caption dialogue in television and movies is captured in .SRT files (there
> are other formats/extensions used, but this is the most common.)  Google
> [show title] "srt" and you can often find the subtitle file(s) for the show
> in question.
>
> Unfortunately, I don't see many SRT files online for "Martin".  If you can
> get the DVDs of the show, there are tools that will rip these files from
> them, but I'd imagine you are looking for something cheaper and online and
> immediately available.
>
> The earliest textual cite I can find:
>
> 1995 Crusader [Susquehanna Univ. student newspaper] 10 Feb 4/4
>
> If you weren't there, too bad!  Just talk to the hand!!
>
>
> https://archive.org/details/Crusader-Vol_36_Nos_1-21_Sept_1994-April_1995/page/n100/mode/1up?q=%22talk+to+the+hand%22
>
> [Note:  going through Archive.org, I see nothing until 1995, and then many
> (mostly collegiate yearbooks and newspapers) cites starting in that year.
> If "Martin" is the vector for this phrase, I'd bet it was used in late 1994
> or early 1995, or the 3rd season].
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org