Italians on Italians
Beyond Toscano

A chin stroke’s as good as a shrug

A chin stroke’s as good as a shrug
When you want to tell someone how little you care in Italy, you don’t shrug, you slide your finger out from underneath your chin. But be careful not to actually rub your chin, this is short for the expression “che barba” – ‘what a beard’ – and is used to express boredom. Quite what boredom has to do with beards is anyone’s guess.