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HUBLOT Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Shake one's head no at someone

I understand what "shake one's head at someone" means, but I wonder what "shake one's head no at someone" means.

Here's an example of "shake one's head no at someone":

Here's an example of "shake one's head at someone":
  

Top answer

There are two ways to shake your head -- up and down (also called a nod), which is an affirmative gesture in many cultures, and from side to side, which is a negative gesture. This is by no means universal, but it's true for English speakers. Both Bruce and Yuuri are making the same head-swiveling gesture, the former to signal to the waitress not to serve him another drink; the latter to disagree with Conrad.

— Deadrat

  • There are two ways to shake your head -- up and down (also called a nod), which is an affirmative gesture in many cultures, and from side to side, which is a negative gesture.
  • This is by no means universal, but it's true for English speakers.
  • Both Bruce and Yuuri are making the same head-swiveling gesture, the former to signal to the waitress not to serve him another drink; the latter to disagree with Conrad.
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8 Answers
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There are two ways to shake your head -- up and down (also called a nod), which is an affirmative gesture in many cultures, and from side to side, which is a negative gesture. This is by no means universal, but it's true for English speakers. Both Bruce and Yuuri are making the same head-swiveling gesture, the former to signal to the waitress not to serve him another drink; the latter to
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HUBLOTt I wonder what "shake one's head no at someone" means.
Shake one's head from side to side to signal 'No'.
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Thank you for your replies, deadrat and MM.

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/shake
shake your head
: to turn your head from side to side as a way of answering “no” or of showing disagreement or refusal
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HUBLOTSo, I have no idea why it is necessary to add "no" after "shake one's head"?
It is a style choice. It also makes the meaning clearer.
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Because you can shake your head (up and down) to mean "yes." In your second text, Yuuri immediately says "no," so it's clear how she's shaking her head. In your first text, Bruce doesn't say anything to the waitress, so we have to be told which shake it is.
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Thank you so much, MM and deadrat.
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deadratBecause you can shake your head (up and down) to mean "yes." In your second text,
I don't agree. In BrE in such contexts., shaking your head means 'no', and nodding your head means 'yes'.
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It's the context. In the first example, Bruce was engaged in a phone call and couldn't say anything to the waitress to stop her from setting another shot. Otherwise, he would say no to the waitress. In the second example, after shaking her head, Yuuri said "No, Conrad, it's not fair". In both cases, the writers were making a style choice suitable for the context.
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