jazz hands

[ jaz handz ]

plural noun

1. especially in modern jazz dance, a movement in which the performer displays forward-facing palms and fully splayed fingers, usually with the hands waving rapidly: adopted in general as a spirited gesture of enthusiasm:

   I want perfect mastery of all the steps in this number before we move to the upper limbs, so keep your jazz hands to yourself.

   Excuse my parents—they were cheerleaders in college, so their jazz hands come out whenever they’re excited about something.

Word History and Origins

Origin of jazz hands¹

First recorded in 1920–25, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

Whether or not he winds up doing jazz hands or belting out pop tunes in costume, Santos’ improbable story is already bound for the small screen: On Monday, HBO confirmed it has optioned the rights to journalist Mark Chiusano’s newly released nonfiction book “The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos,” with “Veep” and “Succession” executive producer Frank Rich on board to help adapt it.

From Los Angeles Times

Sure, there’s Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow and the Hulk, among others, but these are superheroes who spend more time flexing jazz hands than muscle.

From Los Angeles Times

This was the topic of a 2018 Kate Krader story in Bloomberg which specifically references dining experiences that include jazz hands, rolling carts and fancy places.

From Salon

Ashford, who grew up in Denver, seems to have come out of the womb with her baby fingers doing jazz hands.

From New York Times

In the eighth century, the Northumbrian theologian the Venerable Bede presented a system to count to a million, which was one part arithmetic, one part jazz hands.

From Literature