Pluck You!

 

 The Origin of Giving Someone the Middle Finger

What do you think? My friend John said the origin of giving someone the middle finger comes from the story I include below from The Urban Dictionary:

1. PLUCK YOU

The Hundred Years' War (which actually lasted 116 years) was a bloody conflict fought between the British and the French. This was the first war in which long-range artillery was used, and the first deadly long-range weapon to be invented was the longbow, which was developed by the British. The longbow had an effective range of about 300 feet.

The Role of Longbowmen

The longbowmen were not the most battle-worthy men, as they were usually trained to shoot arrows over long distances and not to fight with close-range weapons. The longbow was used in an almost machine-gun-like fashion. The archer would stick all of his arrows in the ground to access them quickly. He would grab an arrow, quickly shoot at the approaching army, then reload and fire again. He would use his index and ring fingers to draw and fire the bow. This was known as “plucking,” as it resembled plucking a stringed instrument.

French Resistance

The French hated the longbow. Whenever a longbowman was captured, the French would cut off his index and ring fingers so he couldn’t fire his weapon and would be rendered useless in the war.

The Return of the English Prisoners

The captured English prisoners returned with nothing left but their middle fingers, and in a short period of time, they learned to use their middle fingers to draw their longbows and “pluck” once again.

The Surprise Attack

Before one battle, the French, knowing they had their opponent greatly outnumbered (around six to one), held a grand party the night before the battle was to begin. Realizing this, the English attacked early the next morning, surprising the French and destroying their advantage. As the English celebrated their victory, they continued to fight in the victorious battle.

Celebrations of Victory

One of the most notable celebrations was the dancing and cheering done by the mutilated longbowmen. They would dance and skip around the dead and wounded Frenchmen, showing them their only remaining useful finger (their middle finger) and yelling (in a British accent), “Look! I still have me middle fingah! I can still pluck you!!! I can still pluck you!!!”

A Lasting Phrase

This phrase was later modified to something else we say when we give someone the finger. So the next time someone gives you the finger and says what they normally say, correct them by saying, “Actually, the correct term is pluck you!” and see what kind of results you get!

Giving the Bird

It is also because of the pheasant or goose feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird."

“Look! I still have me middle fingah! I can still pluck you!!! I can still pluck you!!!”