Getting out of a hug

[krebscout]

How can you gracefully reject an offered hug in a social situation? Assume that there's a good reason not to hug, and that it's best not to talk about that reason with the hugger.

[Tally M.]

Begin coughing. Or sneeze. Nothing like hugging a super germy person.

[Marduk]

You know, I can't think of what a good reason would be (at least one that couldn't be shared with the person trying to do the hugging.)

[Squirrel]

I like Tally's idea. You could hurriedly say "I'm sick!" when they come in for a hug. You could also say that you got a bad sunburn- I know it sounds silly, but my housing complex has a year-round hot tub, and with the warmer weather, sunbathers are coming out..... ?

[Whistler]

you can always pull an awkward hug! (it involves sticking your arms straight out like a robot.)

when I'm sick I ask people to touch elbows with me instead of shaking my hand (ever since I saw it in an Ebola documentary). Maybe you can think of a similar substitute for a hug?

[Yarjka]

you can always pull an awkward hug! (it involves sticking your arms straight out like a robot.)

Please, this. Robot hugs and high fives are the way to go.

[Marduk]

If you're into doing awkward hugs, and that solves the problem, you could always just hug with the shoulder forward, instead of the chest. That's always super awkward.

[mic0]

you could always just hug with the shoulder forward, instead of the chest. That's always super awkward.

I can verify that (1) this is awkward, (2) it makes people wary of hugging you. Source: I do it often.

[Dead Cat]

Ever since my mom had a kidney transplant she tries to not touch people. It oftens involves her waving her hand at people at church instead of shaking hands with them.

[UffishThought]

You can do a temporary fix by saying "oh, not today, thanks. I'm just not feeling too huggy."

[Emiliana]

I find that the easiest thing is to avoid it by giving potentially huggy types a wide berth. You can still be friendly, but most people won't try to hug you if you're holding a conversation from two feet away, with a table in between you, etc.

[Craig Jessop]

I generally just give them a strange look and stick out my hand. I'm not a big touchy person at all. It's going to be very hard for both of us if my future wife has touch as her main love language.

[Squirrel]

I have such a hard time not giving people hugs. I have a friend that i've known since third grade- we hung out together a lot, but I never really felt that close to her. I never put it together until now, but do you guys think that it might be because she actively avoids hugs? At least we both are quality time-ers, I think, but....... Any thoughts?

[Digit]

This'll do the trick:

[Katya]

I have such a hard time not giving people hugs. I have a friend that i've known since third grade- we hung out together a lot, but I never really felt that close to her. I never put it together until now, but do you guys think that it might be because she actively avoids hugs? At least we both are quality time-ers, I think, but....... Any thoughts?

Well, knowing someone for a long period of time isn't a guarantee that you'll become close friends, regardless of your individual hugging preferences. But next time you two hang out, you might try taking your hugging cues from her.

[chillygator]

My friend had a guy try to kiss her and she didn't know how to handle it, so she put her two pointer fingers up like horns, said, "I'm a bull!" and rammed her "horned" head into his chest. That's one way to discourage touching.

[Tally M.]

My friend had a guy try to kiss her and she didn't know how to handle it, so she put her two pointer fingers up like horns, said, "I'm a bull!" and rammed her "horned" head into his chest. That's one way to discourage touching.

That's probably my favorite method so far.

[Marduk]

My friend had a guy try to kiss her and she didn't know how to handle it, so she put her two pointer fingers up like horns, said, "I'm a bull!" and rammed her "horned" head into his chest. That's one way to discourage touching.

Unless of course the person you're interacting with likes silly gestures of affection.

[Craig Jessop]

My friend had a guy try to kiss her and she didn't know how to handle it, so she put her two pointer fingers up like horns, said, "I'm a bull!" and rammed her "horned" head into his chest. That's one way to discourage touching.

NO TOUCHING

[UffishThought]

MORE TOUCHING!