An a-ok (pronounced a o-kay; IPA (General American) ) is both a saying (derived from okay) and a hand-gesture done by connecting the thumb and forefinger in to a circle (the 'O') and holding the other fingers straight or relaxed in the air ("The Okay Sign"). While the gesture is positive in some countries, in certain parts of middle and southern Europe (not in Spain or Portugal) the gesture is considered offensive (as in "you are a zero" or "you are nothing"). In some Mediterranean countries, as well as in Brazil, it is even considered to be a vulgar insult ("you are an asshole"). By the same symbolism, it stands for "marica" (faggot) in several South American countries. In American Sign Language it is the letter "F", or the number "9", and when made with the thumb and forefinger parallel to the ground, means "asshole". When the sign is placed over the nose, with the nose protruding through the 'O' made by the thumb and forefinger, it means, in most continental European countries, "drunk."