Also called: Thumb tucked under the fingers · Enclosed thumb

Where on the hand: Observed in the habitual closed hand, where the thumb is folded inside and the four fingers close over it.

What it looks like: The thumb disappears entirely inside the fist; in babies this is the natural neonatal grasp, in adults it is a habit.

Read as cowardice, absence of self-confidence and hesitation in all undertakings. In babies it is read as an inherited weakness of will; in adults, as fear.

Read with care: In infants the enclosed thumb is ordinary developmental reflex; the traditional reading should not be applied to a child.