History of the Middle Finger

byZoopie

2.8K followers

1 year ago

The Middle Finger and "Plucking Yew"

For those of us who like a good historical story that explains some of our idiosyncrasies, I hope you enjoy this.

Just remember when you laugh the world laughs with you. And when you fall over, the world laughs at you. Lol.

Bringing a good laugh to your readers is a good way to break down barriers, but be careful the topic does not offend.

The Story

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 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 surprise and shock 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!

Over the decades and centuries the words have been corrupted and 'pluck yew' is now "f**K you" and 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.

Source; Facebook

So when you next get caught "flipping the bird" you can say that you are recreating a historical event and it is culturally relevant to you.

Hope You have a great day now you are equipped with the historical importance of "raising the middle finger"

Zoopie.

"keep on Plucking...errr...trucking"