A Tale of that 'Middle' Finger

harry

Super Moderator
#1
Ever get agitated by the guy who showed or rather gave you that upright middle finger sign when you hoot or overtake him? The next time some one show you such a sign, keep your cool and take a stroll back into history to understand the origins of this symbol.

About 600 years ago, before the battle of Agincourt, the brash French, predicting victory over the English, declared they would chop off the middle finger of all English soldiers.

The English soldiers, without the middle finger, would then be unable to use the famed English Longbow and would therefore be incapable of fighting.

The feared longbow, which had pierced many French hearts, was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as plucking yew.

The English unexpectedly won the big battle and after that, began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated enemies, saying: See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!

The French, being who they are can never pronounce ‘P’ properly, always substituting it with ‘F’ instead.

Today, many people not only point the middle finger to insult but follow the English soldiers in repeating the phrase ‘Pluck Yew” except that they tend to pronounce it the French way.
 
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Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#4
No one knows for sure how the classic "one-finger salute" originated, but one good suggestion is that it was intended originally to simulate the action of a ramrod. Instead of using a rod to push ammunition down the barrel of a rifle, the suggestion was that an objectionable idea or command should be shoved into the southern end of the antagonist's alimentary canal, using the appropriate upward motion of the finger. It was a way of saying, "Stick it up your ...." in other words.
 
B

Baldrick

#5
There are some grains of truth in the original post.

In the UK, the offensive gesture that equates to the American "middle finger" is sometimes known as the "V sign" or "two fingered salute", and involves raising both first and second fingers at the recipient with the palm facing inwards (like a reverse "peace" sign).

Although some researchers dispute that there is hard evidence to support the theory, we were taught that this did originate at, or about the time of, Agincourt (as suggested by Harry in the OP).

The French used to cut off those two fingers (the "bowfingers") from captured archers rendering them effectively useless. It was therefore an act of defiance on the part of the British (not English - many of the archers were Welsh) to raise their fingers towards the French prior to the commencement of battle to demonstrate their able-bodiedness.

The rest of the OP is, as Jim says, a lame attempt at humour based on a bad play-on-words.

:)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
C

Craig H.

#6
There are some grains of truth in the original post.

In the UK, the offensive gesture that equates to the American "middle finger" is sometimes known as the "V sign" or "two fingered salute", and involves raising both first and second fingers at the recipient with the palm facing inwards (like a reverse "peace" sign).

Although some researchers dispute that there is hard evidence to support the theory, we were taught that this did originate at, or about the time of, Agincourt (as suggested by Harry in the OP).

The French used to cut off those two fingers (the "bowfingers") from captured archers rendering them effectively useless. It was therefore an act of defiance on the part of the British (not English - many of the archers were Welsh) to raise their fingers towards the French prior to the commencement of battle to demonstrate their able-bodiedness.

The rest of the OP is, as Jim says, a lame attempt at humour based on a bad play-on-words.

:)
So if I go into a pub in England and hold up 2 fingers for a drink for my companion and I, there is a chance I might get more than I ordered (so to speak)?

Might be nice to know.
 

Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#7
The French used to cut off those two fingers (the "bowfingers") from captured archers rendering them effectively useless. It was therefore an act of defiance on the part of the British (not English - many of the archers were Welsh) to raise their fingers towards the French prior to the commencement of battle to demonstrate their able-bodiedness.
There is indeed some sketchy evidence of the two-finger salute, but it probably doesn't stem from Agincourt, as the only primary-source documentation we have today doesn't mention it, and what we do have from the period (Jean Froissart's The Chronicle) cites it as being used in a different conflict in the Hundred Years' War.
 

Steve Prevette

Deming Disciple
Staff member
Super Moderator
#10
So if I go into a pub in England and hold up 2 fingers for a drink for my companion and I, there is a chance I might get more than I ordered (so to speak)?

Might be nice to know.
Actually, in Europe, if you want to show the number 2 with your fingers, you hold up your thumb and index finger. In the USA, we treat the thumb as the fifth finger, in Europe it is the first.
 
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