TransWikia.com

Word or phrase to describe banging finger downwards to demand something

English Language & Usage Asked by Thursagen on December 5, 2020

I’m trying to find a short and sweet phrase to describe the following action.

A man is upset. He is demanding for something to be done. He reaches his hand forward, his finger pointing downwards, and he bangs his finger on the table several times, indicating he wants that something now. Or maybe just as an action to reaffirm how serious he is.

Is there a clear way of describing this action?

3 Answers

One word I think you can use is gesticulate:

to move your hands and arms about in order to attract attention or make somebody understand what you are saying

He gesticulated wildly at the clock.

She was shouting and gesticulating from the other side of the road.

So you could say that someone was gesticulating at the floor to indicate his impatience.


Another option is to use stab:

To make a thrusting or poking motion at or into: stabbed the air with his fingers.

So you can say that someone stabbed the desk with his finger, possibly also saying that he is impatiently doing so. If there is no desk, he stabbed downward with his finger.

Answered by simchona on December 5, 2020

The most common phrase for this is "banging the table", or "to bang the table".

Answered by Hugo on December 5, 2020

If he's doing that on a Bible, you could say Bible-thumping. It's quite a common phrase, so you could expand that to '...he thumps his finger on the table...'

Answered by user12549 on December 5, 2020

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP