Locker room, Big Buddies and fatigue (pp. 100–101)
One semion that still works fine is holding your fist up and cranking at it with the other hand so the finger you’re giving somebody goes up like a drawbridge. Though of course Hal’s mocking himself at the same time. Everybody agrees it speaks volumes.
Context
Struck has just sarcastically deferred the fatigue-lexicon problem to Hal, and Hal answers with a gesture the narration classes, in full linguistics register, as a "semion" — a sign that still signifies after the words have all failed. "It speaks volumes" closes the loop: when the lexicon runs out, E.T.A. falls back on a working sign-system of cranked middle fingers.