At first glance, it looks like an ordinary clenched fist. Look more carefully, however, and one unusual detail stands out: the thumb has been pushed between the index and middle fingers. This distinctive gesture has existed for centuries and is commonly known as the fig sign, or mano fico.

Its history stretches back at least to ancient Rome. Romans used the gesture during the Lemuria festival, when families performed rituals intended to protect themselves from restless spirits. The hand position was believed to have protective power and was also reproduced as an amulet designed to ward off the “evil eye” and other misfortune.

But protection wasn’t its only meaning. The gesture also carried deliberately suggestive symbolism. Historically, the thumb and surrounding fingers were interpreted as representing sexual anatomy, which helped give the sign associations with fertility while simultaneously allowing it to function as an obscene insult. That unusual combination of protection and vulgarity followed the gesture through different periods and cultures.

As centuries passed, its meaning changed depending on where it was used. In some cultures it became a sign of refusal or defiance—essentially communicating “you’ll get nothing.” Elsewhere it retained its protective or good-luck associations, while in certain regions it could still be interpreted as a serious insult. Even small mano fico charms continued to be worn as protection against bad luck.

So the strange-looking fist isn’t meaningless at all. It is the ancient fig sign, a gesture that has represented protection, fertility, defiance, refusal and insult at different times and places. Today many people may recognize the same basic hand position from the harmless children’s game “I’ve got your nose,” without realizing that the gesture behind the joke has roots stretching back thousands of years.