The Origin of the Finger – Flipping the Bird

I don’t know what it is like in your part of the world, but in Australia, road rage is getting out of hand. I was driving yesterday when some idiot cut in front of me. No indicator, just shot across in front of me as if he owned the road.

I’m normally a very passive driver unless someone pisses me off! This guy achieved that status.

It was on! Looking back, that wasn’t the best choice. People have been attacked, had their cars wrecked, or even shot on the roads.

We yelled and swore, flipping each other off. It didn’t matter much since our windows were up. Then, after about thirty seconds, we split up. I turned the corner while he drove straight ahead.

It got me thinking, though, what a strange description this was: “Flipping the bird.” In Australia, we just say that we are giving the finger, which is more accurate.

Flipping someone off, giving the middle finger, or flipping the bird is a rude hand gesture. It is used to express contempt, roughly equivalent in meaning to "F*** you," “F**** off," “go F*** yourself," “shove it up your bum," or “up yours."

Time to do some research; where and how did this originate?

The origin of the finger

Many cultures, especially in the Western world, use an extended finger as a mark of disrespect. For added effect, if you hold your right finger and the pointer finger on each side, it looks like a pair of testicles.

It stems right back to ancient Greece. The gesture was known as the katapygon (from kata, "downwards," and pugē, "rump, buttocks"). Over time, the middle finger became linked to witches casting spells. It also became known as the "shameless finger.”

“The finger” as a gesture took on special meaning in the fight between the French and the English in the 14oo’s. The French believed they would defeat the English. They planned to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. The theory said that without a middle finger, they couldn’t pull the English longbow. So, they couldn’t fight effectively.

The act of drawing a longbow was referred to as “plucking the yew,” as it was made from English Yew trees. After the Battle of Agincourt, the English taunted the confused French. They waved their middle fingers and shouted, “Pluck yew."

You can see how things have progressed to modern technology. Since ‘pluck yew’ is a little difficult to say, the beginning was gradually changed to an “F”.

Modern times

In the United States, this gesture is protected by the First Amendment as a form of expression. In Canada, it was ruled a God -given right. Although not considered polite (really!), it was the height of every breed-blooded Canadian. Prime Minister Trudeau made the gesture famous as the "Trudeau salute." He showed it to protesters during a rally in British Columbia.

Many athletes and musicians have “flipped the bird.” The outcomes have been mixed. The finger is in Unicode as U+1F595 🖕. It shows a hand with the middle finger up. This emoji is part of the Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs block.

In Australia, it’s key to not mix up giving someone “the finger” with a " thumbs up." The latter has the opposite meaning. The thumbs-up means “good one.” It can show approval or sarcasm. For example, it might mean “good one, idiot” when someone acts stupidly. In both cases, a clear facial expression shows the intended meaning.

In a final note, the term "flipping the bird” can also have an alternate meaning, so I am told.

It can refer to a bloke (man) who jumps off a speeding ute. He runs alongside an emu in the desert. Then, while running, he grabs the emu and flips it onto its back.

This is often done barefoot in summer. Desert temperatures can hit around 50 degrees Celsius. Participants wear a blue Jackie Howe singlet and stubbies (shorts).

After this, usually more cold beer is consumed, which is what got them into this in the first place. The emu isn’t hurt, just annoyed and a little dusty. You would have to go into the outback among the die-hard Aussies to witness this. (They don’t have a lot to do in their spare time!)

🖕 👍🖕👍 🖕 👍🖕 👍🖕

Till next time,

Calvin