Is there an alternative word for "facepalm"?

Okay, we all know what a facepalm is. It has pretty much entered the modern vernacular as both a noun and a verb ("to facepalm").

However, I was wondering if there was a more formal word to describe the gesture of hanging your head into the palms of your hands. The thing about a facepalm is that it usually describes extreme frustration at a perceived idiocy, but this is not the only situation where the same gesture applies: Desperation, embarrassment, exhaustion (both mental and physical) and concentration can all induce it.

If there is no such word (or words) to describe it, how did authors of old show this gesture? After all, I can't see Tolkien or Nabokov writing about a character who "facepalms" at a certain comment or situation.

Solution 1:

Hide one's face is an idiomatic expression which is close in meaning to facepalm:

• Also, hide one's head. Feel shame or embarrassment. For example, You needn't hide your face-you're not to blame, or Whenever the teacher singled her out for something, shy little Mary hid her head. This idiom alludes to the gesture indicative of these feelings. [Late 1500s] (AHD)

Hide one's face in shame:

• Fig. to cover one's face because of shame or embarrassment. Mary was so embarrassed. She could only hide her face in shame. When Tom broke Ann's crystal vase, he wanted to hide his face in shame. (AHD)

Facepalm:

• A gesture in which the palm of one’s hand is brought to one’s face as an expression of dismay, exasperation, embarrassment, etc.(ODO)

You should note that facepalm is an expression ...

... found primarily in real-time text communication on the Internet, often involving image macros or ASCII art of someone facepalming .

Solution 2:

The OP suggested an excellent expression:

Hang head [in shame]

to be ashamed

Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed.

Today's top image on a Google search of hang your head was suggested as the archetypical facepalm in a comment by Jason C:

Solution 3:

If you're looking for a more exasperated facepalm, I like to use the expressions "pinched the bridge of his nose" or "placed his head in his hands with an exasperated sigh."

These seem to get across the point of a facepalm while also sounding more formal in nature.