Secret handshake

For other uses, see Secret Handshake.

A secret handshake is a distinct form of handshake or greeting which indicates membership in or loyalty to a club, clique or subculture. The typical secret handshake involves placing one's fingers or thumbs in a particular position, one that will be recognized by fellow members while seeming to be a normal handshake to non-members.^[1] This is most frequently associated in the popular consciousness with college fraternities, fraternal orders and secret societies.

The Pass grip of a Fellow Craft, a Masonic recognition sign

Examples

In the Roman mystery religion Mithraism, members were initiated with a handshake, and members were known as syndexioi (united by the handshake).^[2]

Freemasons are among the long-standing users of secret handshakes, known as "grips".^[3]

Mormonism also uses secret handshakes, modeled on the handshakes used in Freemasonry.^[4]

Secret handshakes are also used by college fraternities in the United States, and used by members as recognition symbols in later life.^[5]

See also

• Collegiate secret societies in North America
• Gesture
• Kushta
• Shibboleth