The shoulder-raising action may be accompanied by rotating the palms upwards, pulling closed lips downwards, raising the eyebrows or tilting the head to one side. A shrug is an
emblem, meaning that it integrates the vocabulary of only certain cultures and may be used in place of words. In many countries, such as
the United States,
Sweden and
Morocco, a shrug represents hesitation or lack of knowledge; however, in other countries, such as
Japan and
China, shrugging is uncommon and is not used to show hesitation. People from
the Philippines,
Iran and
Iraq may interpret a shrug as a somewhat impolite sign of confidence. == Gallic shrug ==