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History of the Middle Finger ...
>
> 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
>
> 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
