The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

by Becky Chambers

“Did you touch your face at all while you were talking to the Akarak captain? Like you’re doing now?” “Um, yeah, maybe.” Ashby pushed through the fog, trying to remember. “I don’t know, it all happened so fast.” “Something like this, maybe?” Rosemary rubbed her eyes with her palm, as if she had a headache. “Possibly. Yeah. Yeah, I think I did.” Rosemary grimaced. “That explains it. See, this—” She tucked her thumb back and held her fingers straight and flat, making her hand into a rough imitation of a Harmagian dactylus. She flexed her hand over her eyes, twice. “—is a really offensive thing to Harmagians. And those Akaraks’ gestures and dialect were very Harmagian influenced.” “What’s it mean?” Rosemary cleared her throat. “It means you’d rather rub shit in your eyes than keep talking to them.” Ashby blinked. He and Sissix both burst into laughter.

Haha unintentional cultural insults