Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/03/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]This is great. I'm Irish. We always say why let history get in the way of a superb story. This is one of the best I have heard in ages! Barney Jeffery Smith wrote: > I got this in an email from a 71-year-old retired Marine friend of mine. I > was hoping that Chandos or some other history type could either verify it > or disprove it. Here goes... > ========================================= > The history of the middle finger salute. > > 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? > > 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." > > Jeffery Smith > > Jeffery > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information -- Barney Quinn, Jr. (301) 688-1982 (O) (240) 535-3036 (C) (877) 220-0981 (P)