The Origin of (Tha Bird)

I ran upon this the other day, always wondered where the finger came from.

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 20 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!>>>

Patty A real knock down ??? Whoa !!!! We will have to open up the Octagon B) ;) ;) B) :laugh: :laugh: I'll be at ringside>>>

Worked on a job with a crew of Chinese painters once, they turned the phrase into "pop chew" "pop chew, man" :laugh:>>>

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :side: :silly: :side: :woohoo: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: B) B) ;)>>>

Hey Pot A BRIEF HISTORY OF "THE FINGER" Giving someone "the finger" is one of the basest violations in modern culture, but its origins date back over 2500 years. The first written record of the insult occurred in ancient Greece, where the playwright Aristophanes made a crude joke mixing up the middle finger and the penis. Even back then, the bird was considered an aggressive, phallic put-down. And for those who are counting B) ;) ;) B) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_does_giving_the_finger_originate_from :laugh: :laugh: :woohoo: Very cool topic Pot very very cool Thanks again . The next time someone flips you the bird ......you decide what the story is. Rest assured you will understand what it means .>>>

Hey Pot , Ciakism , that's really clever of you . C.I.A. (Central Intelligence Agency ) kism { chief ) B) B) B) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :woohoo: :woohoo: next contestant please !!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :side: :silly: :woohoo: :woohoo: :side: :laugh: Whoa baby Whoa whew ....... This is really to much fun.>>>

.....lol, jed, ciakism?? Don't no if it's true or not but it will serve till somebody comes up wit sumpin better. :woohoo:>>>

Hey Pot I remember running across that awhile back. I thought it really cool story to fill some questions I have asked over the years about how what when why and where . I know as much now as I did then about it . Like a novel that tells a story I look at life through the eyes of adventure and discovery . Keep them coming Pot . I like story's like that. If it is real or not No one knows for sure there is a very grey line . The people who are counting ... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :woohoo: pseudo intellectuals with a lot of phew . :laugh: :laugh: I mean faux , Thanks for posting it .... ;) ;) B)>>>