American Sign Language: "beef"
BEEF:
Just fingerspell the word: B-E-E-F.
Also see: MEAT
Also see: COW
Dr. Bill's notes:
During a discussion on a Facebook page a person mentioned that to express the concept of "beef" he/she signed a combination of "COW" + "MEAT."
For what it is worth, I recommend spelling "BEEF" -- then if someone asks you what "beef" means go ahead and sign "COW MEAT."
The person on the Facebook page is married to a supportive, yet Hearing spouse who likely reads fingerspelling rather slowly at this point in his/her development. Thus you can see why the person's signing choices are geared toward signing "COW" and "MEAT" -- even though it is much faster to spell "B-E-E-F" than to do the signs "COW" and "MEAT."
BEEF is typically spelled by adult native Deaf signers when communicating with each other (here in the United States) because it is faster to spell those four letters than to do two separate signs.
If you go to a Deaf event and sign "COW MEAT" -- adult native Deaf signers will assume you are "Adult Late Deafened" or a "student."
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