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

Fri Jan 16 21:17:18 UTC 2026

I did my own casual streaming of the first few seasons of "Martin" on
Netflix, and I agree with Jeff's assessment. There were a number of times
(not just S1E20) where characters used the "talk to the hand" gesture but
did not actually say that. So I think the gesture and the expression got
conflated in people's memories. Also, the fact that the show popularized
other catchphrases ("Whassup," "You go, girl," "Get to steppin'," etc.)
made it easier to imagine "talk to the hand" was used on the show as well.

--Ben

On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 3:46 PM Jeff Prucher <
000000b93183dc86-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

>  "Martin" is currently on Netflix (among other platforms). I downloaded
> their subtitle/closed caption files, and the phrase does not appear in
> them. I searched for "talk to the hand", which had no hits, and also just
> "hand" and "talk to" which had plenty, but nothing obviously resembling the
> phrase. (There are, apparently, a number of ways to do this; I followed
> these instructions: https://github.com/isaacbernat/netflix-to-srt)
> Of course, "does not appear in Netflix's CC files" is not the same as "was
> not spoken on the show" so I don't think this is necessarily definitive,
> but my guess (for what it's worth) is that it wasn't said on "Martin".
> There is a scene in S1 Ep20 ("The Break-Up: Part 3", airdate February 18,
> 1993 per Wikipedia) at about the 5:15 mark, where two characters are
> arguing and one does the "talk to the hand" pose, but does not say "talk to
> the hand" (she says "don't get hurt by this little girl, okay?"), which
> could have helped make an association between the show and the phrase,
> since the phrase would have fit in with the general sassiness of the show.
> Another possibility is that Martin Lawrence did use the phrase in his
> comedy or other performances, and people mis-remembered it as being from
> the TV show instead. Even he used it later, after it was more well-known, I
> could imagine this happening. The only filmed stand-up of his from the
> relevant time that I can find is "You So Crazy" from 1994, which is on
> YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5ovylGy6i8); I downloaded the
> CC file from that, but I didn't see the phrase there, either. (Same caveat
> about relying on CC files applies.)
> FWIW, my best hypothesis right now is that Lawrence had nothing to do with
> the coinage, and that the phrase and gesture originated with "the youth"
> and somehow got Mandela-effected onto "Martin" later.
> Jeff Prucher
>     On Thursday, January 15, 2026 at 12:09:47 PM PST, Ben Zimmer <
> 00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
>  ProQuest and NewsBank are in error here. Page 8E of the July 19, 1994
> issue
> of the Sun Sentinel has a section called "Back Talk." It includes a
> syndicated Chicago Tribune piece by Brenda You about the band Shonen Knife,
> and it also has a column on "In Your Words" with the "talk to the hand"
> definition from 12-year-old James from Boca Raton Middle School. Brenda You
> had nothing to do with "In Your Words," but ProQuest and NewsBank glommed
> the whole thing together under her byline.
>
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/south-florida-sun-sentinel-talk-to-the-h/188997139/
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 11:02 AM Shapiro, Fred <
> 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > One would think so, but when I search the Chicago Tribune in ProQuest,
> > nothing comes up.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of
> John
> > Baker <0000192d2eeb9639-dmarc-request at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2026 3:30 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Subject: Re: "Talk to the Hand" Query
> >
> > The Author/Byline, according to NewsBank, is “BRENDA YOUChicago Tribune,”
> > so there may be a slightly earlier version of this in the Tribune.
> >
> >
> > John Baker
> >
> >
> > > On Jan 15, 2026, at 5:50 PM, Ben Zimmer <
> > 00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > Fred posted an antedating last June, and then again a few days ago,
> from
> > > July 19, 1994:
> > >
> > > 1994 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 19 July 8E (ProQuest)
> > > TALK TO THE HAND  "It means, "Shut up, I don't want to talk to you any
> > > more."  — James, 12, Boca Raton Middle.
> > >
> > >
> > > (I'll renew my plea to try to keep discussions threaded so we don't
> lose
> > > track of useful information scattered across different subject lines.)
> > >
> > > On Thu, Jan 15, 2026 at 1:28 AM 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!!
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> [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].
> > >>
> >
>
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