The Historical Origin of the Middle Finger

Submitted by Rich Dunn

This is not meant to be crude. It is strictly for your edification and
enjoyment.
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 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." 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!"
Over the years, some 'folk etymologies' have grown up around this
symbolic gesture. Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say (like
"pleasant mother pheasant plucker", which is who you had to go to for
the feathers used on the arrows for the longbow), 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 are mistakenly thought to have something to
do with an intimate encounter.
It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the
symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird".

i've heard that before but it has been along time. i always wondered if
it was true or not, where did you find it?

Woah! You learn something new everyday!

i thought it was funny and all but what is even funnier is that someone
sat down and researched that topic lol, must've been a slow day at the
office

Yeah! I had always wanted to write a book about the origins of slang
and cuss words, like F word, which means For Uncardinal Knowledge. Not
sure of the meaning of that but I have heard it originated when the
British were occupying India they didn't want the troops to partake of
the local hospitality so they came up with this rule.

This is were I got the info on the Middle finger .
http://www.anvari.org/shortjoke/EmailJoke_Set_3/55.html

I've also heard FUCK comes from England when the King was trying to get
the population count up..so a decree was issued to: Fornicate Under
Command of the King. There are several variations on this theme as
well...it is also claimed that the word is derived from the German
"frichen"(sp) meaning "to strike".which is why some ppl say frickin', as
in "what a frickin' rip off"...which was also bastardized into friggin'

oh and ghost, I think the meaning you're thinking of is "For Unlawful
Carnal Knowledge

I actually learned that in the 10th grade.
My History teacher kicked ass.

Yeah Public. You are right about the gernam version.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fuck is an English word which, when used literally as a verb, means "to
engage in sexual intercourse". It is generally considered offensive and
one of the most vulgar words in the English language and a swear word.
It is sometimes referred to as the f-word. Like many English words, the
origin of the word may be Germanic, originating from the German
"Ficken", which means "to strike".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuck

Reputable sources such as the Oxford English Dictionary contend the true
etymology of fuck is still uncertain but appears to point to an
Anglo-Saxon origin. Early modern English fuck, fuk, answering to a
Middle English type *fuken (weak verb) was not found, and ultimate
etymology is unknown. Synonymous German ficken is derived from German
Friktion (English friction) and, as far as it is accepted, may or may
not be related. It would point to a common Germanic origin.

Amazing.

Ghostrecon

i don't know, i like the word fuck and think that it should be done
often but i have been accused of being rude and classless on occassion.

ya know what I say King??? Fuck the fucking fuckers lmfaoooo

Just think of how future generations are going to read about us now.

Fuck the clusterfucks.

lol

Just think of how future generations are going to read about us now.

At the rate things are going..you might be assuming a bit much that
they'll even be able to read lmao

Sweetie Baby, how are u and how is things going on with u i guess and
believe cool and much lovely and if I?m telling you how I feel when i
get your mail u wont believe it up and I hope by all means something
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a little bit about me, My name is joana wilson ,I'm 30 years of age,
5ft and 6inches and slim(and fair in complexion I was born and raised in
West Africa (Ghana, to be precise) and my race is black African (a
Ghanaian). My heritage is English, may be you may ask what I mean by my
heritage is English is all because our Colonial masters was the British,
Please my religion is a Christian, Please never mind about me been a
Christian so if u are not a Christian Please u do respond back and let
us eee what the future would hold for me and u. I'm a student and I?m
Medicine and I loved been a student a lot and i would be out of school
very soon and as soon as I?m out of school. Talking about who I am; am
that easy going type, adventurous, romantic, ambitious and have a very
good sense of humor.. My hobbies are too many but to mentioned a few;
sports, watching movies, going for walks, listening to music (almost all
types of music), love on the beach, dancing in the dark etc. My favorite
movies are romantic movies, eating habits: just about anything. My hair
is black which one of my most attractive features is. I don't have any
kids; I don't smoke or drink alcohol. I?m always smiling and don't
easily get irritated, I don't even remember the last time I frowned. I?m
that type of person who always try to make people laugh. I always make
sure to share the little that I have with someone and I'm also satisfied
with whatever I have. I?m an all rounded person to cut it this is all i
can say about me but if you feels there's more you want to know about
me, please you're more than welcome to ask any question u wished to know
about me and I?m also alone and looking for someone to share my whole
life with, not just someone but one who have all the good characters in
life. I'm of that type and want someone with the same to spend with. I
can see you are of that type because you stated it in your advert the
type of person of you want. I really know what love is and also the type
who give his whole heart in a relationship. Relationships are built one
day at a time; they take time, patience, honesty, passion and ability to
compromise and grow! so with true love, is by sharing bad and good times
together. True love is a covenant that we build on a strong foundation
and that?s why we don't develop it within a day. It takes sometime to
mature and that?s when both sees that they are having the same strong
feeling for each other.do u have yahoo mail address so that i can send u
my pics . my email address is joana_wilson2000@yahoo.com u can also send
me mail

Sweetie Baby, how are u and how is things going on with u i guess and
believe cool and much lovely and if I?m telling you how I feel when i
get your mail u wont believe it up and I hope by all means something
special will come out of it and but without much to say I want to tell u
a little bit about me, My name is joana wilson ,I'm 30 years of age,
5ft and 6inches and slim(and fair in complexion I was born and raised in
West Africa (Ghana, to be precise) and my race is black African (a
Ghanaian). My heritage is English, may be you may ask what I mean by my
heritage is English is all because our Colonial masters was the British,
Please my religion is a Christian, Please never mind about me been a
Christian so if u are not a Christian Please u do respond back and let
us eee what the future would hold for me and u. I'm a student and I?m
Medicine and I loved been a student a lot and i would be out of school
very soon and as soon as I?m out of school. Talking about who I am; am
that easy going type, adventurous, romantic, ambitious and have a very
good sense of humor.. My hobbies are too many but to mentioned a few;
sports, watching movies, going for walks, listening to music (almost all
types of music), love on the beach, dancing in the dark etc. My favorite
movies are romantic movies, eating habits: just about anything. My hair
is black which one of my most attractive features is. I don't have any
kids; I don't smoke or drink alcohol. I?m always smiling and don't
easily get irritated, I don't even remember the last time I frowned. I?m
that type of person who always try to make people laugh. I always make
sure to share the little that I have with someone and I'm also satisfied
with whatever I have. I?m an all rounded person to cut it this is all i
can say about me but if you feels there's more you want to know about
me, please you're more than welcome to ask any question u wished to know
about me and I?m also alone and looking for someone to share my whole
life with, not just someone but one who have all the good characters in
life. I'm of that type and want someone with the same to spend with. I
can see you are of that type because you stated it in your advert the
type of person of you want. I really know what love is and also the type
who give his whole heart in a relationship. Relationships are built one
day at a time; they take time, patience, honesty, passion and ability to
compromise and grow! so with true love, is by sharing bad and good times
together. True love is a covenant that we build on a strong foundation
and that?s why we don't develop it within a day. It takes sometime to
mature and that?s when both sees that they are having the same strong
feeling for each other.do u have yahoo mail address so that i can send u
my pics . my email address is joana_wilson2000@yahoo.com u can also send
me mail

F U C K hmmm I also heard that when a man wanted to marry a young
girl, who happened to be under the age of 14, he had to get permission.
Therefore the law was passed Fornicate Under Consent of Kin. F U C K

My 2 cents anyways. Take Care.

Hey ghost.. I think what you meant was that one theory was that
adulterers would be put in the stocks and were marked with the letters
FUCK (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge) so people were aware of their
crime.

Yeah! you could be right there usadad. There seems to be quite a few
origins of this acronym. Oh Fuck it! LOL

Ghoestrecon