Like she's carrying invisible suitcases. --Elaine (describing a
woman who walked without swinging her arms; Seinfeld, April 14,
1999) Usage: As a counterweight, the arm-swing helps balance our
upright body while walking, jogging, and running. In dances,
such as the locomotion, swim, and twist, vigorous arm-swinging
gyrations express inner feelings and moods in time to music's
rock-'n-roll beat. Observation. Restless, back-and-forth motions
of the arms above a conference table, e.g., may reveal an
unconscious wish to "walk away" from meetings or discussion
groups. Evolution. Spinal-cord paleocircuits which govern the
rhythmic, alternating movements of arm-swinging evolved (in
tandem with those of the legs) for locomotion. The act of
swinging the arms while walking--and of pumping them while
running--is an evolutionary holdover from earlier days, when the
arms (used as forelimbs) participated with the legs in
quadrupedal locomotion. Infancy. At three months of age, we use
our forearms and hands to raise our bod