The History of Giving the Finger

The History of Giving the Finger:
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                           /'_'/'   '/'__'7,
                        /'/    /    /    /"  /_\
                      ('(    '    '     _~/'   ')
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                         '\'   \           _.7'
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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 be incapable of
fighting
in the future.

This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew 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 are
mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter.
It is

also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used w/the longbow
that
the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird".

"William R. Snyder" <usm...@erols.com> wrote in message
news:3DC...@erols.com...
> The History of Giving the Finger:
>                                       _
>                                     /'_/)
>                                   ,/_  /
>                                  /    /
>                            /'_'/'   '/'__'7,
>                         /'/    /    /    /"  /_\
>                       ('(    '    '     _~/'   ')
>                         \                 '     /
>                          '\'   \           _.7'
>                            \              (
>                              \             \
>
> Giving the Finger
>
*snip*

> 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
are
> mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter.

That 'pluck yew' bit sounds a tad tenuous to me. I always heard that the
French cut *two* fingers off the English archers, so the traditional English
salute is with two fingers up, not one. The symbol was later partly
corrupted, partly reinvented, rather like the 'thumbs up/down' gesture, to
one finger making a fisting reference.

> That 'pluck yew' bit sounds a tad tenuous to me. I always heard that the
> French cut *two* fingers off the English archers, so the traditional English
> salute is with two fingers up, not one. The symbol was later partly
> corrupted, partly reinvented, rather like the 'thumbs up/down' gesture, to
> one finger making a fisting reference.

Two fingers up, indeed.
I very much doubt the pl/f theory... even morphing from one to the other
the l is resilient. Afaik the word originated in elizabethan england,
where it was visibly branded onto people "For Unclean Carnal Knowledge".

OA:

      /|
     |(
    /  \
   |    `.
  /  .-,  |
 |  ,  , /
 |  ;=; '       burning match. Looks diddleable.
  \_|=|/
    | |
    | |
    | |
    | |
    |_|

Pete wrote in message ...
>> That 'pluck yew' bit sounds a tad tenuous to me. I always heard that the
>> French cut *two* fingers off the English archers, so the traditional
English
>> salute is with two fingers up, not one. The symbol was later partly
>> corrupted, partly reinvented, rather like the 'thumbs up/down' gesture,
to
>> one finger making a fisting reference.
>
>Two fingers up, indeed.

Yes.  But don't get the idea that the single-fingered salute is any less
insulting than its two-fingered variant.  Especially don't try this idea out
down the pub on a Friday night.

You won't make it out alive.  :O/

>I very much doubt the pl/f theory... even morphing from one to the other
>the l is resilient. Afaik the word originated in elizabethan england,
>where it was visibly branded onto people "For Unclean Carnal Knowledge".

"For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" was abbreviated to "F.U.C.K." and was
written on the chalkboard beside each prison cell that was occupied by a
prostitute.

Thus the most used word in the English dictionary was born...  :oD

--
Graeme Porter
   -^-_  _
   / [_][_]_:_  Proud owner of a 1978
  /|  _||_  v  Pearl Fiberglass Shell kit
   | /    \ |
-=/=\\____//=\=jaa  "I married Miss right, I just didn't
                     know her first name was 'Always'"
                                       -- Anonymous

"Anonymous" <gue...@guest.net> skrev i meddelandet
 news:aqqedo$abg$1...@pheidippides.axion.bt.co.uk
>
> Pete wrote in message ...
> >I very much doubt the pl/f theory... even morphing from one to the other
> >the l is resilient. Afaik the word originated in elizabethan england,
> >where it was visibly branded onto people "For Unclean Carnal Knowledge".
>
> "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" was abbreviated to "F.U.C.K." and was
> written on the chalkboard beside each prison cell that was occupied by a
> prostitute.
>
> Thus the most used word in the English dictionary was born...  :oD

Merriam-Webster:
http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=fuck
> Etymology: akin to Dutch "fokken" to breed (cattle),
> Swedish dialect "fokka" to copulate

Online Etymology Dictionary:
http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/f5etym.htm
> Written form only attested from early 16c. (O.E.D. supplement cites 1503
> in the form fukkit; earliest appearance of current spelling is 1535) [...]
> It apparently is hinted at in a scurrilous 15c. poem written in bastard
> L. and M.E., titled "Flen flyys." The relevant line reads: Non sunt in
> celi quia fuccant uuiuys of heli "They [the monks] are not in heaven
> because they fuck the wives of Ely." Fuccant is pseudo-L., and in the
> original it is written in cipher. The earliest examples of the word
> otherwise are from Scot., which suggests a Scand. origin, perhaps akin to
> Norw. dial. fukka "copulate," or Swed. dial. focka "copulate, strike,
> push," and fock "penis." Another theory traces it to M.E. fkye, fike
> "move restlessly, fidget," also "dally, flirt." [...]

There's lots more there. He mentions the German "ficken", for example.
However, the early spelling "fukk" seems to contradict the acronym theory.

--
 OO  Joaquim G�ndara
.||. http://www.Nerd-Boy.net
 bb  jg

"Joaquim G�ndara" <cla...@lords.com> wrote in message
news:aqqi4e$c09h8$1...@ID-102694.news.dfncis.de...

[fuck]

> Online Etymology Dictionary:
> http://www.geocities.com/etymonline/f5etym.htm
> > Written form only attested from early 16c. (O.E.D. supplement cites 1503
> > in the form fukkit; earliest appearance of current spelling is 1535)
[...]
> > It apparently is hinted at in a scurrilous 15c. poem written in bastard
> > L. and M.E., titled "Flen flyys." The relevant line reads: Non sunt in
> > celi quia fuccant uuiuys of heli "They [the monks] are not in heaven
> > because they fuck the wives of Ely."

Sweet. So the number 1 swearword was inspired by my home city, sort of.

In article<3DC...@erols.com>, William R. Snyder
<usm...@erols.com> writes:
>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 be incapable of
>fighting
>in the future.
>
>This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the
>act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck
>yew").

 This is the joke version, of course.  There are three main kinds
 of insulting finger guesture in English.  The old version is
 done by  curling the first two fingers over, the thumb between, 
 and the last two fingers also curled over, then shoving the thumb 
 up in the air, in imitation of testicles and penis.  This is called
 a "fig" (as in "I couldn't give a fig") as it resembles the sides
 and stalk of a fig.  A variant is the first finger curled over, 
 the second finger stuck out, and the third finger curled over;
 this is often called "the bird", for its resemblance to the wings
 and neck of a flying goose, and is very common in America.
 The modern British finger guesture is the first two fingers 
 stuck up in a Vee, again with the back of the hand to the watcher. 
 It might have some sexual meaning, but most likely it really does
 go back to Agincourt and showing that one has the FIRST TWO fingers
 with which to draw a longbow.  

 As for "fuck", it comes from ficken meaning to strike or push, 
 which came to mean having rough sex with someone.  Likewise "shag"
 (a variant of "shake"), again meaning rough sex.  

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