How it all started

[Chris Burdett]

Of course, this might just be a bit of fiction, sounds plausible, but I have my doubts, you see after all of my years of reading and interest in History, this is the first time I have heard it.....Just worth a quick read though.....Chris

Subject: FW: HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE FINGER




HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE FINGER

Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?
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Giving the Finger

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native EnglishYew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew! "PLUCK YEW!"

Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

And you thought you knew everything .....

F/S shooters thumb in bum mind in nuteural



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[Guest]

To All,
At least we all agree on something.
This Post got the response it deserved.

Barry Davies

[Warwick Brown]

Just looked at your finger thing and though I'd at a couple of others.

1. Not enough room to swing a cat. always thought that would be a strange thing to swing a cat around your head untill I looked at this book about sayings. The cat referred to is from the old days - as in a cat of 9 tails.

2. Once in a blue moon. ( not very often) A blue moon is the second full moon occuring in the same calander month.

3. Rule of thumb. Is an old english rule that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with anything thicker that a thumb.