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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 4, 2006 10:12:44 GMT -5
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!
Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant
cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals 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."
IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!
......And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.
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Post by ladyt on Nov 4, 2006 18:34:21 GMT -5
HeHe I've heard that before.. Tonja  |
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Nov 5, 2006 1:13:15 GMT -5
I just love history
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Crystalclear
starting to spend too much on rocks
I'm Anthony ^That's Buster^
Member since September 2006
Posts: 217
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Post by Crystalclear on Nov 5, 2006 1:38:12 GMT -5
I thought it is just the longest human finger and has been used in certain acts since the beginning of time so it conveys that expression.
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on Nov 5, 2006 11:04:47 GMT -5
Great! I like it. Now Randy, research the fart for us...
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Post by BAZ on Nov 5, 2006 11:24:08 GMT -5
Great info, now I know the history behind The Official Salute of the State of California!
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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 6, 2006 6:59:44 GMT -5
Same here, we use it to "render honors" to our co-workers on the construction sights.
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Crystalclear
starting to spend too much on rocks
I'm Anthony ^That's Buster^
Member since September 2006
Posts: 217
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Post by Crystalclear on Nov 6, 2006 14:17:42 GMT -5
This is from the wikipedia.orgThe origin of this gesture is highly speculative, but is quite possibly up to 2500 years old. It is identified as the digitus impudicus ('impudent finger') in Ancient Roman writings [1] and reference is made to using the finger in the Ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes. It was defined there as a gesture intended to insult another. It has long been told that the famous "two-fingers salute" and/or "V sign" derives from the gestures of English archers, fighting at Agincourt. The myth claims that the French cut off two fingers on the right hand of captured archers and that the gesture was a sign of defiance by those who were not mutilated. Jean Froissart (circa 1337-circa 1404) was a historian and the author of Froissart's Chronicles, a document that is essential to an understanding of Europe in the fourteenth century and to the twists and turns taken by the Hundred Years' War. The story of the English waving their fingers at the French is told in the first person account by Jean Froissart. However, the description is not of an incident at the Battle of Agincourt, but rather at the siege of a castle nearby in the Hundred Years' War. Adding to the evidence is that by all accounts Jean Froissart died before the battle actually took place; it was therefore rather difficult for him to have written about it. One should note that Jean Froissart's writings aren't the most reliable and that a similar story is told about the English giving the V sign. This can be further explored at the Battle of Agincourt. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_finger#Origin
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