AN INTERESTING PIECE OF HISTORY
"PLUCKING THE YEW"


The 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?

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."

IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH
TODAY!

And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing!

The English salute with two fingers, as it also takes the forefinger to draw a bow...
Any of your ancestors given the choice between the galows or Australia ?

Bobby, My mob came to Aus voluntarily, something to do with the shitty weather in Holland, WW2, and the Germans tramping through the back yard every 50 years or so, leaking dykes and living below sea level & did I mention the shitty weather!!

England didn't have pheasants at the time of Agincourt. Pheasants were imported from the far east centuries later. Thumbsdown on yer finger.

Ok,Ok so it's not exactly history.....but it should be!!!