Rubbing Hands Together Meme: Meaning, Origin & How to Create

You’ve seen it in group chats, TikTok threads, and Twitter replies: a man in a yellow jacket peeking from behind a tree, hands rubbing together, tongue darting out. It’s the Anthony Adams rubbing hands together meme, and it has quietly become one of the internet’s most versatile reaction images.

Pinterest searches for rubbing hands together meme: 21,000+ ·
Top meme generator for this meme: Imgflip – Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands ·
GIF platform with most results: Tenor – Rubbing Hands Together GIFs ·
Original creator: Anthony ‘Spice’ Adams, former NFL player

Why Is the Rubbing Hands Meme So Popular?

The Role of Relatability and Anticipation

The Anthony Adams rubbing hands meme captures a universal micro-expression: the moment before you get what you want. According to Know Your Meme, the image is used to “represent feelings of desire, anticipation, and excitement” (Know Your Meme editorial guide).

“represent feelings of desire, anticipation, and excitement” — Know Your Meme editorial guide

• It also illustrates unsavory cravings such as greed and scheming, according to the same Know Your Meme editorial guide.
• The duality — innocent excitement vs. mischievous plotting — gives the meme range. You can use it for pizza arriving or for outsmarting a coworker.

Viral Spread on TikTok and GIF Platforms

The Anthony Adams image itself was first posted on December 27, 2017, as part of a humorous story titled “The Love Story of Leon Lemons” shared to Twitter and Facebook (Know Your Meme (meme database)). The image shows Adams wearing a yellow jacket, peeking from behind a tree, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips.

The first Reddit meme based on the image appeared on April 16, 2019, posted by an unknown user and gaining nine upvotes. But the breakthrough came on July 5, 2019, when Redditor dcxr posted a version that gained over 73,000 upvotes in twelve days (Know Your Meme).

On TikTok, the meme found new life through remixes. Content creators added tongue-out edits and crossovers with anime characters like Sukuna from Jujutsu Kaisen, who also rubs his hands in a menacing way. These variations keep the format fresh and algorithm-friendly.

What Does Rubbing Your Hands Together Mean in Body Language?

General Body Language Interpretation

In body language literature, rubbing hands together is widely recognized as a signal of positive anticipation. According to experts cited by Westside Toastmasters, hand rubbing often indicates that a person is expecting something good to happen (Westside Toastmasters (public speaking and body language resource)).

“hand rubbing often indicates that a person is expecting something good to happen” — Westside Toastmasters body language resource

The speed of the rubbing matters: fast rubbing suggests high excitement about an anticipated outcome, while slower rubbing can indicate calculation or scheming. This aligns perfectly with why the meme works — the gesture inherently communicates “I’m about to get something I want.”

• A key distinction: hand rubbing is different from hand clasping (fingers interlocked), which signals frustration or restraint.
• The rubbing hands together meme occupies a sweet spot between the two — it’s expressive enough to read instantly but ambiguous enough to apply to multiple contexts.

Constant Hand Rubbing and Nervousness

While the meme shows confident anticipation, constant or repetitive hand rubbing can indicate nervousness or anxiety. Body language expert Joe Navarro notes in his work that self-soothing gestures — including hand rubbing — increase when a person feels uncertain or stressed (