In the Allied Worlds, the act of jamming the pad of the outer thumb into the ground, sometimes called “the one-digit stomp” is a vulgar gesture similar to the middle finger. It imitates crushing an insect, and is used to express contempt.

On Hearthside, however, the gesture has a neutral to positive connotation similar to a thumbs-up. The origin of this usage is unclear, although the most common explanation given by Hearthsiders themselves is that it represents decisively pressing a button. It usually means something along the lines of “I'm on it” or “I got you covered”.

Hearthsider pups, particularly in larger cosmopolitan urban centers, who have grown up watching media produced in the Allied Worlds have begun interpreting the gesture in line with its use there. How one uses and perceives its use by others has become an inter-generational shibboleth, with older generations and less urban folk lamenting the new negative perception as more AW cultural imperialism.

A more niche gesture used in communities where yinrih and humans interact frequently involves lifting a paw and making a grasping or twiddling motion with the digits. This is specific to inter-species interactions, and is a way for a yinrih to tell a human “This is just how we do things here”. Its literal meaning is “Our feet are also our hands” and can be anything from mocking to empathetic depending on context.

For an empathetic example, an exhausted human is staring up into the entrance to a building, which is a hatch through the floor accessed by climbing a ladder. An elderly yinrih walks up beside him, smells his exasperation, and makes the gesture in response. She climbs ahead of him, then offers a paw to help pull him up.

For a mocking example, a group of pups is leaping and brachiating around a play structure. A human child is struggling to keep up, and one of the pups mocks him by making the gesture and bounding off without helping.

In both cases the gesture means something like “this world wasn't built for you,” and the follow up actions make it clear whether it's meant as an expression of solidarity or ridicule.