Lunchtime!
Now it's time to learn the foods you eat at lunch. “Lunch” is signed in the same manner that you just signed “breakfast.” To sign “lunch,” form the sign for “noon” and then sign “eat.” A variation would be to gently tap the mouth using the “L” hand. This version is an initialized sign.
For lunch you could have a few light selections, such as soup and a sandwich, or a nice healthy salad with a cold glass of milk.
But then again, you could always slip away to one of those fast-food restaurants! To sign “restaurant” tap the “R” hand once on each corner of your mouth. Here, you could order a mouthwatering hamburger with cheese, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise, and a large soda. Of course, you will also have to have that extra-large order of French fries.
SOUP: Scoop the right “H” hand, curved like a spoon, into the curved left palm. Bring your right hand a few times up to your mouth. Visualize holding a bowl in your left hand while your right hand acts as your spoon.
SANDWICH: Bring the “flat” hands, palm-to-palm, toward your mouth, imitating eating a sandwich.
SALAD: Move both “claw” hands, palms facing upward, and imitate tossing a salad in a bowl with your hands.
MILK: Squeeze one or both “S” hands alternately up and down imitating milking a cow. Often, this sign is formed using just one hand.
“Hamburger” is a natural sign that imitates making a patty. Clasp both “curved” hands, as if you were making a patty, and then reverse direction.
CHEESE: Press the heels of both hands together, twisting back and forth, imitating pressing cheese.
When signing condiments or dressings that are spread on bread or rolls, you form the sign by imitating a spreading motion, on the “flat” palm drawn toward you. You need only to change the handshapes for the specific item.
BUTTER: Draw the extended fingers of the right “N” hand across the left “open” palm, imitating spreading butter.
To sign “mayonnaise,” draw the extended fingers of the “M” hand across your left “open” palm, imitating spreading mayonnaise.
To sign “mustard,” circle the extended fingers of the “M” hand on your left “open” palm, imitating squirting mustard on bread.
To sign “French fries,” slide the “F” hand to the right in two small movements in the fingerspelling position.
TOMATO: First sign “red,” then use your right index finger to strike the left fingertips of the modified “O” hand. Note: This is a compound sign. Visualize holding a tomato and slicing it.
ONION: Twist the knuckle of the “X” hand in the corner of your eye. Visualize: Onions make you cry.
KETCHUP: With your left “C” hand, hold an imaginary “ketchup” bottle upside down. Strike the bottom of the “bottle” with the heel of the right “open five” hand. Variation: Shake the “K” hand up and down. This version is an initialized sign, and one of many ways to sign “ketchup.”
SODA: Hold an imaginary can in your left hand and hit the top of the “can” with your right hand, imitating a “pop” sound. Variation: Holding the imaginary can with the left hand, the right middle finger is pushed into it, and then the hand hits the top. Another variation is to pull the ring before the hand hits the top of the can.
