The combination of a shake and hug has been around for years. One hand grasps the other man's hand, and one arm goes around his shoulder. The handshake is facile. The hug is tender. But the shug is right there in the middle — masculine and affectionate at the same time, reserved but expressive. It allows you to put yourself out there by bringing the other guy in. Close but not so close. It's more than a shake, less than a hug. It's a shug.

The shug can be predetermined: You can go in shugging. Or it can be decided upon during the course of the ordinary (if all-important) handshake. But the choice is yours. Because you have the guy's hand. He can't get away. Which brings up the interesting part: With a shug you can inflict affection.

Like when Barack Obama shugged John McCain during one of their presidential debates last October. At that moment the elegance and utility of the shug were fully realized. That's when it went beyond merely being the future president's signature greeting and became useful to us all. Because what appeared at first like a physical manifestation of unity may also have been disarming. With that shug, he pulled McCain in. He literally kept his enemy close. He leaned in so far that he could plant the kiss of death. Or maybe it wasn't nefarious at all. Maybe he just likes the guy. Either way, McCain got shugged.

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Ross McCammon Ross McCammon is former special projects editor at Men’s Health.

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