Month: April 2025

Posted on

BODY SIZES

Finishing the hand signs for Size with the Size and measurements we judge in the mirror, My ASL Dictionary has cartoons of the English Nursery Rhyme couple, the Spratts, with one that could eat no fat and the other that could eat no lean.

A cartoon of Jack Spratt, a tall, thin man with grey hair and beard, shows an ASL hand sign for THIN.
Cheeks sucked in the G hand moves down the face.

The final hand sign for Size, and the measurement judged most of all, My ASL Dictionary has a cartoon of the Nursery Rhyme Wife of Jack Spratt, the partner who could eat no lean.

A large woman with brown hair and green eyes illustrates the ASL hand sign for FAT.
With Cheeks puffed out, the 5 hands move outward from the side of the body.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #fat #thin #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

SHORT STUFF

For the opposite of Tall and Long, My ASL Dictionary has Cartoons of two twin boys dressed like young Ringmasters, illustrating the ASL hand signs for SHORT.

The first Master of Ceremonies, in a black hat and red tie, measures Height and distance.
Palm down, the bent B hand held to the side as it moves up to down to indicate a small size.

The second Impresario in a red hat and black tie measures Time.
The H hand rubs back and forth across the opposite stationary H hand, like measuring the short length or duration.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #short #brief #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

TALL AS A HOUSE

Another size description of Large is its Height.
My ASL Dictionary has a Giant standing in the clouds, a reflection of a mountain on his shirt, showing the ASL hand sign for TALL.

The Index finger moves up the opposite palm from the heel to off the fingertips, like sizing a mountain.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #tall #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

LONG STRETCH

From Long Names to a Long Time, Length is another measurement of Size. My ASL Dictionary has a cartoon of a gentleman in a white wig and a Colonial outfit showing the ASL hand sign for LONG.

The index finger drags up the opposite forearm, measuring a great distance or duration of time.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #long #cartoon #dicitonary #myasldictionary

Posted on

HAPPY EARTH DAY

To celebrate Earth Day 2025, I placed the Planet’s ASL hand sign on My ASL DIctionary’s Home page.

The art from My ASL Dictionary has a young Astronaght, a view of the third planet from the sun reflected in her visor, illustrating the ASL hand sign for EARTH.

The thumb and middle finger of the Open 8 hand grab the opposite fist and rock back and forth like the planet rotating on its axis.

#asl #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #earth #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

The dictionary text has an error. It wrongly states the opposite hand is 5 when the visual correctly shows a fist (S HS). My apologies.

Posted on

CUTE LITTLE BUGS

With Cartoon Giants inside my book’s pages to represent bigger sizes, my dictionary uses characters of a smaller stance for dimensions you have to squint your eyes to see.

My ASL Dictionary has a cartoon of a Girl in a Bee Costume showing the hand sign for LITTLE and TINY .

With pursed lips, the thumb and index finger squeeze together, the face leaning forward with pursed lips and squinted eyes to show an object even smaller.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #little #tiny #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

A cartoon of a Boy dressed in a Ladybug costume shows the ASL hand signs for SMALL and VERY SMALL.

The two B hands, their palms facing each other, move closer together.
The facial expression of pursed lips and squinted eyes describes how small the item is.

Posted on

BIG

Large, Huge, Giant, and Massive, this eye-catching size is hard to miss.
My ASL Dictionary has a cartoon of a Green-skinned Giant dressed in leaves showing the ASL hand sign for BIG.

Eyes open, the two Bent L hands pull away from each other, visually representing the size.

For an even greater size, the eyes open wide as the two Bent L hands pull away from each other as the mouth opens up with the mouth morpheme “CHA”.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #big #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

MEASURE OF SIZE

Another part of storytelling is the description of Shapes, Colours, and Sizes. This week’s posts from My ASL Dictionary’s artwork will cover hand signs describing size.

Showing both dimension and magnitude, a cartoon of a Mountain Giant with Big Teeth shows the ASL hand sign for SIZE.

The thumbs of the Y hand lightly tap each other in front of the chest like an engineer measuring size.

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #long #measurements #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

DIRTY CHIN

Despite hours of cleaning, there is always extra dirt lying around. Instead of a cartoon of another Garbageman, My ASL Dictionary has a different character known for getting dirty on the job.

Glazed in spray paints, a cartoon of a Graffiti artist (Twin to the Marine officer showing the hand sign for PIG) illustrates the ASL hand sign for DIRTY.

Palm down, the flat hand is held under the chin as the fingers flutter like leftover scraps on your chin.
Similar to the hand sign for PIG (also known for being dirty).

#ASL #americansignlanguage #signlanguage #dirty #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

Posted on

SPICK AND SPAN

The job of keeping the building spotlessly clean and well looked after is the responsibility of the Janitor. JANITOR is an ASL Compound, a single sign made by two hand signs, like the verb attached to a noun (Mop+Person=Janitor).

My ASL Dictionary has cartoons of two Janitors dressed in blue uniforms showing ASL hand signs for MOP and SWEEP, the verbs in the ASL Compound for JANITOR.

A cartoon of a moustached Janitor in a Spick hat shows the ASL hand sign for MOP.
Fists move forward in a ‘mopping’ motion as if pushing the mop handle.

A cartoon of a moustached Janitor in a Span hat shows the ASL hand sign for SWEEP.
Forward sweeping motion off opposite palm like sweeping crumbs off the table.
In context, this hand sign can also mean JANITOR without adding the PERSON hand sign.

#ASL #americansignlanguge #signlanguage #sweep #mop #cartoon #dictionary #myasldictionary

The Janitor in the SPAN hat shows the ASL Compound for JANITOR, a mix of the hand signs for SWEEP and PERSON.