Long Pinkie Finger Nail Meaning ?

[aneliane]

Could someone explain me why some Thai men have a longer fifth finger's fingernail ?

In Europe it was sported by coke users

I heard some guitarists have longer nails

But there are so many, they can't be all coke users/guitarists

Please don't tell it's to pick boggies / ear juice

[MrRealDeal]

It is for good luck ......... It's considered good luck in Thai culture

[aneliane]

It is for good luck ......... It's considered good luck in Thai culture

How does that work?

[EmptyBasementBin]

Pathetic status based symbol.

'I don't work in a field' identifier.

Usually it's said to be about the same length as their erection, apparently.

[MrRealDeal]

I'm not sure of the how it came about or why I just know the what it's for ..... and it's not a status saying I don't work in the field it's simply for good luck , plenty of field workers also do it.

[arminbkk]

It is for good luck ......... It's considered good luck in Thai culture

Yes, according to my Thai colleague who has one.

Yet he lets me pick his lottery ticket.......and never wins (my nails are cut at least once a month).

[Jdietz]

It's to get to those hard-to-reach boogers.

[Semper]

Pathetic status based symbol.

'I don't work in a field' identifier.

Usually it's said to be about the same length as their erection, apparently.

Hence you cut yours short.

[DP25]

It's a general purpose tool. Especially for picking your ears and nose

[Farma]

Hmmm so the "for use in sticky situations when bum gun unavailable" reason i was told decades ago is out of fashion now.

[Semper]

They are perfect when you want to pick up those miniature flies that you'll se in your beer glass.

[Shot]

When back in the states, I asked a Mexican customer of mine about the long finger nail. His answer was: It’s a weapon. In a quick brawl, he could do some damage with it, like a cut that might become infected.

[Soutpeel]

It actually not a "Thai" thing...it actually comes from China, sucessful merchants and the upper classes grew the nail longer to indicate they didnt have a manual job or have to so physical labour

[NanLaew]

It actually not a "Thai" thing...it actually comes from China, sucessful merchants and the upper classes grew the nail longer to indicate they didnt have a manual job or have to so physical labour

Correct. And I am shocked that non of our esteemed members with hi-so Sino-Thai spouses have stepped in here already to answer the OP's query.

But I have seen it used several times for digging in earholes... it's a class thing IMHO.

[waza]

its for snorting yaa ice....

[Chittychangchang]

It actually not a "Thai" thing...it actually comes from China, sucessful merchants and the upper classes grew the nail longer to indicate they didnt have a manual job or have to so physical labour

Correct. And I am shocked that non of our esteemed members with hi-so Sino-Thai spouses have stepped in here already to answer the OP's query.

But I have seen it used several times for digging in earholes... it's a class thing IMHO.

My Thai brother in law says it means butterfly man, draw your own conclusions from that comment.

[KeyserSoze01]

Please don't tell it's to pick boggies

Ok, I won't tell you what you don't want to hear.

[bkkjames]

I go for the "i am no laborer, I am a taxi driver option"

Speaking of different things, why the coin in the ear thing?

[Naam]

I go for the "i am no laborer, I am a taxi driver option"

Speaking of different things, why the coin in the ear thing?

it amplifies sound waves and is the Thai hearing aid version.

[bkkjames]

I go for the "i am no laborer, I am a taxi driver option"

Speaking of different things, why the coin in the ear thing?

it amplifies sound waves and is the Thai hearing aid version.

i get it, sound of money kind of thing "hey somchai, can you move your dam_n motorbike, what, I cant here you I have a coin in my ear"

[waza]

The coin is to keep the ear clean after they picked it with the long pinky nail

[MaxwellsDemon]

Coin in what ear? Huh? Derp.

[eeeya]

I saw a guy with 2 coins giving himself a shave.. pinching them together between the fingers of one hand..

when finished he carried them in his ear.

good idea actually, a gillette mark 3 doesnt fit too well

[nocturn]

While it is an indicator against manual labour, i am told it is a good luck superstition.

If you look at the hands on any given buddah image you will see that the fingers are all essentially the same length.

the fingernail is an effort to extend the length of the pinkie to the length of the other fingers.

[chrisinth]

While it is an indicator against manual labour, i am told it is a good luck superstition.

If you look at the hands on any given buddah image you will see that the fingers are all essentially the same length.

the fingernail is an effort to extend the length of the pinkie to the length of the other fingers.

Its good luck that he doesn't have to do manual work...................

[bendejo]

In Asian culture the long nails are to show you don't have to work with your hands. It is to impress others with.

Where I grew up the cultivated pinky nail was for shoveling powders into the nose. The fact that you so frequently put stuff up there that you altered part of your body for doing it was also something to impress others with.

[jacktrip]

That hand is used to wipe with water when using a squat toilet. The long pinky finger symbolizes that they are well to do enough that they are used to western toilets/toilet paper etc.

[how241]

its for snorting yaa ice....

In the USA, before it was for snorting coke. Maybe it's a 'style' thing now ?

[Tywais]

Take your pick (sorry, bad pun) Item 3 & 4 are the ones I'm most familiar with.

• Organic coke spoon. As if we needed to ask.
  

• Booger scoop and earwax excavator. Gross, yes, but sure keeps that coke from falling off.
  

• In the old days in China, long fingernails were a sign you were rich and didn't do manual labor. Now they grow out the pinkie as a sign of culture, breeding and wealth. No doubt there's some truth to this. A bit of browsing turns up photos of ornate fingernail protectors worn by ladies of the imperial Chinese court. Bizarre though such talons may seem to some, one could argue that as an indicator of culture, breeding, and wealth they beat having to buy a Jaguar and read Proust.
  

• My Chinese students (all about 18 to 22) told me the nails are long so the little finger reaches past the last knuckle joint on the ring finger. If it does, you are rich and intelligent! Maybe, but if I'm Anna Nicole Smith trying to size up a prospective soul mate, I'm going to need to see more than a pinkie nail.
  

• My 76-year-old uncle keeps one pinkie nail long and sharpened to open envelopes.
  

• A sharpened, hardened nail is a dangerous weapon and can be a sign of prison time. Or of a man who opens a lot of envelopes.
  

• I thought it was a sign one was a pimp.
  

• My friend has one and always hints it is for sexual purposes. I really hope they don't involve earwax.
  

• Great for opening shrink-wrap. Ha! I bet that's what Mr. Sexual Purposes does with it.
  

• General scratching and ear cleaning. The longer nail also works well when trying to pick up something lying flat on a table, like a coin. Definitely seeing a common thread here. My assistant Bibliophage points to the French word auriculaire, meaning pinkie finger, of which Larousse remarks, "ainsi nommé parce que sa petitesse lui permet de s'introduire dans l'oreille" ("so named because its small size allows it to be introduced into the ear").
  

More here - The Straight Dope

[bkkjames]

In Asian culture the long nails are to show you don't have to work with your hands. It is to impress others with.

Where I grew up the cultivated pinky nail was for shoveling powders into the nose. The fact that you so frequently put stuff up there that you altered part of your body for doing it was also something to impress others with.

Regarding your first point, by default, one could be excused for thinking that there should be a lot of people running around with a horn on the top of their head.