Group Hugs are OK
I think group hugs are ok, but what I really like are full-body contact skin-to-skin hugs.
I also enjoy the ancient roman custom of cupping.
Two men each stand slightly to the right of the other man. Skin-to-skin contact, Each man puts his left arm over and around the other man's right shoulder. Right cheeks pressed together. Each man uses his right hand to cup the other man's cock and balls.
Cupping:
The earliest mention of it that I'm aware of is in the Bible. Abraham sent his servant Eliezer to get a wife for his son from among their kinfolk and made Eliezer swear he would follow his orders explicitly. It says Eliezer put his hand under Abraham's thigh and swore to do as Abraham instructed him. The Bible can be very open and direct at times but it also uses euphemisms and figures of speech freely. [Side note: Which makes literal word-for-word translations worthless unless you are well-versed in Hebrew figures of speech and euphemisms.] From what I've read, "under his thigh," is a euphemisms for, "cupping his balls." So, it would appear that the custom is VERY old.
The concept is this. Today, we frequently say: I've got your back. That is: I'll keep you safe and make sure no one comes up behind you. Cupping says, You're safe; I've got your balls. No one is going to hurt you.
Have you noticed that the words "testimony" and "testicle" are very similar? It's because they come from the same word -- witness. When a man testified in court, he would hold his balls -- he was saying, in essence: If what I'm saying is not true, then you can cut my balls off. He was swearing by his balls.
Gonna have to disagree with you on this one. Heres my evidence, testicle (n.)
early 15c., alteration of testicule (late 14c.), from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis "testicle" (see testis). Old English had beallucas (see ballocks) and heran, probably originally "leather bag" (compare heora "deer-skin"). The commonest slang terms for them in other languages are words that mean "balls," "stones," "nuts," "eggs."
testimony (n.)
c. 1400, "proof or demonstration of some fact, evidence, piece of evidence;" early 15c., "legal testimony, sworn statement of a witness," from Old North French testimonie (Old French testimoine 11c.), from Latin testimonium "evidence, proof, witness, attestation," from testis "a witness, one who attests" (see testament) + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition. Despite the common modern assertion, the sense of the word is unlikely to have anything to do with testicles (see testis).
Just sayin.
I'm no sure wherein lies the disagreement.Gonna have to disagree with you on this one. Heres my evidence, testicle (n.)early 15c., alteration of testicule (late 14c.), from Latin testiculus, diminutive of testis "testicle" (see testis). Old English had beallucas (see ballocks) and heran, probably originally "leather bag" (compare heora "deer-skin"). The commonest slang terms for them in other languages are words that mean "balls," "stones," "nuts," "eggs."testimony (n.)c. 1400, "proof or demonstration of some fact, evidence, piece of evidence;" early 15c., "legal testimony, sworn statement of a witness," from Old North French testimonie (Old French testimoine 11c.), from Latin testimonium "evidence, proof, witness, attestation," from testis "a witness, one who attests" (see testament) + -monium, suffix signifying action, state, condition. Despite the common modern assertion, the sense of the word is unlikely to have anything to do with testicles (see testis).Just sayin.
I said testicle means witness; the information your provided says testicle means witness. Sounds like confirmation and agreement to me.