Well now, here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to share with my intelligent friends in the hopes that they too will feel blessed in having gained more knowledge. This directly applies to an erroneous account surrounding the universally recognized symbol of displeasure that made another few laps of social media recently.
History is way more fun when you know more fun facts about it, don’t you agree?
According to SNOPES (CLICK), the go-to spot for debunking things that seem not quite right, "The oft shared premise that the origins of the one-finger gesture and its associated 4-letter word that begins with F had its roots in the 1415 battle between French and English forces at Agincourt is simple enough to debunk. The insulting gesture of extending one's middle finger originated long before the Battle of Agincourt."
Of course, being the dextrous types, humans have long used hand gestures to broadcast displeasure or aggression to our fellow man because it's much more effective to have an action accompany a slur, lest there be some form of misunderstanding of the emotions being experienced. Be it the flicking thumb from the front teeth from Shakespeare's day (it actually launches Romeo and Juliet), the Commonwealth's peace sign with the back of the hand to the target (a milder substitute for the Bird), or the Italian Corna (North America's sign for bull crap or call sign for a certain Texas university), we have been quite the creative lot when it comes to dissing our brethren.
According to SNOPES (CLICK), the go-to spot for debunking things that seem not quite right, "The oft shared premise that the origins of the one-finger gesture and its associated 4-letter word that begins with F had its roots in the 1415 battle between French and English forces at Agincourt is simple enough to debunk. The insulting gesture of extending one's middle finger originated long before the Battle of Agincourt."
Not familiar with the insinuation that the French created the infamous single-finger salute?
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 English longbow 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!
Over the decades Americans have since changed up the words , the 'pluck yew' is now "f**K you" and 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 yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.
Again, according to SNOPES ... and caution: Verbosity ahead!
Over the decades Americans have since changed up the words , the 'pluck yew' is now "f**K you" and 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 yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.
The precise etymology of the English word F__K is still a matter of debate, it is linguistically nonsensical to maintain that that word entered the language because the "difficult consonant cluster at the beginning" of the phase 'pluck yew' has "gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'f.'" A labiodental fricative was no less "difficult" for Middle English speakers to pronounce than the aspirated bilabial stop/voiceless lateral combination of 'pl' that the fricative supposedly changed into, nor are there any other examples of such a pronunciation shift occurring in English.
Did you get all of that? Basically, the notion that F__K came about as an inability to speak another language effectively is, for lack of a better term, BUNK!
And for a variety of reasons, it made no military sense whatsoever for the French to capture English archers, then mutilate them by cutting off their fingers. Medieval warriors didn't take prisoners because by doing so they were observing a moral code that dictated opponents who had laid down their arms and ceased fighting must be treated humanely, but because they knew high-ranking captives were valuable property that could be ransomed for money. The ransoming of prisoners was the only way for medieval soldiers to make a quick fortune, and so they seized every available opportunity to capture opponents who could be exchanged for handsome prices. Since bowman were not valuable prisoners, though, they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. There was no monetary reward to be obtained by capturing them, nor was there any glory to be won by defeating them in battle. What would be the purpose of taking archers captive, cutting off their fingers, and then executing them? Why not simply kill them outright in the first place? Even if archers whose middle fingers had been amputated could no longer effectively use their bows, they were still capable of wielding mallets, battle axes, swords, lances, daggers, maces, and other weapons, as archers typically did when the opponents closed ranks with them and the fighting became hand-to-hand.
All of that makes perfect sense to me!
Whether you call it 'the finger', 'the bird', or 'the one finger salute', the universal sign meaning “F__k you” it is undeniable that there’s an art to 'flipping someone off'. The execution and duration of your gesture can make or break the effect of the insult. When performed just right, throwing a middle finger (or a double-handed two) is universally one of the most gratifying feelings, and experts attest that it's actually a sign of deference and defiance that’s been around for literally thousands of years.
Flipping people off is an act as old time. The ever-subversive ancient Greeks used their middle fingers to symbolize sex (not “making love” sex, the rude, derogatory kind) and it was used to express displeasure toward someone.
In ancient Rome, giving the finger was a physical threat. The Latin phrase for the middle finger digitus impudicus literally means “unchaste finger,” and the gesture was a symbol for anally penetrating men. The nod to anal rape isn’t entirely different (though more directly violent) from the “f__k you” meaning it has today. (CLICK)
And for a variety of reasons, it made no military sense whatsoever for the French to capture English archers, then mutilate them by cutting off their fingers. Medieval warriors didn't take prisoners because by doing so they were observing a moral code that dictated opponents who had laid down their arms and ceased fighting must be treated humanely, but because they knew high-ranking captives were valuable property that could be ransomed for money. The ransoming of prisoners was the only way for medieval soldiers to make a quick fortune, and so they seized every available opportunity to capture opponents who could be exchanged for handsome prices. Since bowman were not valuable prisoners, though, they stood outside the chivalric system and were considered the social inferiors of men-at-arms. There was no monetary reward to be obtained by capturing them, nor was there any glory to be won by defeating them in battle. What would be the purpose of taking archers captive, cutting off their fingers, and then executing them? Why not simply kill them outright in the first place? Even if archers whose middle fingers had been amputated could no longer effectively use their bows, they were still capable of wielding mallets, battle axes, swords, lances, daggers, maces, and other weapons, as archers typically did when the opponents closed ranks with them and the fighting became hand-to-hand.
All of that makes perfect sense to me!
Flipping people off is an act as old time. The ever-subversive ancient Greeks used their middle fingers to symbolize sex (not “making love” sex, the rude, derogatory kind) and it was used to express displeasure toward someone.
In ancient Rome, giving the finger was a physical threat. The Latin phrase for the middle finger digitus impudicus literally means “unchaste finger,” and the gesture was a symbol for anally penetrating men. The nod to anal rape isn’t entirely different (though more directly violent) from the “f__k you” meaning it has today. (CLICK)
Prior to the advent of photography, and later videography, the single-finger salute was a case of 'you had to be there', but according to the book Manual Concepts by FH Cushing (1892), Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn of the 1889 Boston Beaneaters baseball team was immortalized with a middle finger up in a group photo taken of the Beaneaters and the New York Giants to relay his displeasure with his east coast rivals.
Many a celeb has expressed themselves digitally.
From the grainy black and white photo of Johnny Cash making his displeasure of San Quentin Prison's warden abundantly clear, to former POTUS George W Bush's 'one-finger victory salute' aimed at Democratic rival Ann Richards after his narrow win just prior to his televised victory speech, there's a long and varied history of people flipping off people.
Who says education is boring?
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