Swabian salute
Humorous, euphemistic reference to the profanity Leck mich am Arsch ("kiss my arse")
The term Swabian salute (German: schwäbischer Gruß) is a partly humorous, partly euphemistic reference to the expression Leck mich am Arsch (akin to expression "kiss my arse", but literally "lick me on the arse") which is a common profanity.
Origin
Perhaps the idea which is expressed in the literal meaning goes back to ancient magic conceptions that turning the bare bottom towards a danger or unwanted person (a demon, a witch, a curse) will work as a protection spell – see Anasyrma. Also, a reference to the feudal homage kiss could be recognized. Stone depictions of this act can be found on gates and walls of medieval buildings such as castles, town fortifications, monasteries and even churches in south Germany (not limited to Swabia), Austria, eastern France and some other places in Spain and Italy.
Use
Although very common in most German-speaking areas with the possible exception of the extreme north of Germany, the Swabian salute is used for a whole number of purposes among the people of Swabia, Baden, parts of Bavaria and Austria, while in most other regions it is regarded merely as a rather vulgar insult.
According to the reasons given for a judgement of a German court, the mentioned words can serve the purpose of "picking up an earlier conversation, continuing a stagnating conversation, giving new impulses to a conversation, ultimately end a conversation". Writer Thaddäus Troll, who cited the court in his 1975 book Preisend mit viel schönen Reden, added more reasons: "to express surprise, to express joy about unexpectedly meeting a fellow Swabian, to turn down a request regarded unacceptable". Naturally, the salute is also used as an insult in the mentioned regions. The intended sense must be carefully judged by context and intonation.
As with any popular phrase of this kind, a multitude of variations and more or less humorous replies exist.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Swabian salute” as humorous, euphemistic reference to the profanity Leck mich am Arsch ("kiss my arse"). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as humorous, euphemistic reference to the profanity Leck mich am Arsch ("kiss my arse"). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q127772. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1975.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Swabian salute” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.