contemplatively

Clasping-hands-behind-the-back is one of those behaviours which might look good in books but never seems to work in real life. When I have to stand around for any length of time I'll usually go through a range of postures and foot-weight-redistribution exercises (though nothing like the weird stuff polices do when static) but always quickly release if I find one hand clasping the other behind my back as it feels most odd. I suppose if you're a butler or some kind of demeaned servant it's one of the stances of which your repertoire must consist but there is probably seldom a requirement for normal people to so compose their person. That famous painting of the Reverend Thingy Skating on What is Quite Clearly Not Duddingston Loch could probably have carried off a rearward hand-clasping to avoid unReverendly arm-flailing but instead opted for a vaguely Nelsonic arm-tucked-in-the-coat instead. Although codgers often opt for stances which seem strange to our young, modern eyes they usually have their root in some kind of enforced military behaviour which essentially just seems to be designed to avoid anything slovenly or loafish such as putting the hands in the pockets despite that clearly being the purpose of pockets. Maybe as people grow old and start feeling unsteady on their feet (probably in part because of their shiny shoes) they keep avoiding putting their hands in their pockets so that they can grasp something if they go a bit wobbly on an uneven paving-stone though hands clasped behind the back are almost as inaccessible.