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?
_
>>>>> /-/)
>>>>> ,/_ /
>>>>> / /
>>>>> /'_'/' '/'__'/','/'
>>>>> /'/ / / / /_\
>>>>> ('( ' ' _ > \
>>>>> \ |
>>>>> \ ' /
>>>>> '\' \ _./'
>>>>> \ \
>>>>> \ \
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 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!
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 everything.
