"the finger" in 1932 Hollywood epic (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Great finds, Bill. They enhance our knowledge.

The first three seem to involve baseball.

The relationship to umps is surprising. Could it be that the writers were
thinking of a "You're out!" gesture?  But hasn't that always been "the
thumb"?

JL

On Mon, May 14, 2012 at 2:53 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: "the finger" in 1932 Hollywood epic (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> >
> >
> > _Galveston [TX] Daily News_ 28 Aug 1949 p 4 col 5 [Newspaperarchive]
> > "Tito says Stalin gave him the finger on the Austrian territorial deal
> > so the big four will think Stalin is on the up-and-up."
> > [also in other papers on 28, 29 Aug]
> >
> > Pasadena CA _Independent_ 19 Nov 1957 p 3 col 7 [Newspaperarchive]
> > "He was going home, off duty, in his car late the other night, and a
> car
> > full of young punks drove up beside him.  They gave him the finger and
> > then held up a knife."
> >
>
> See also:
>
> _The Sporting Life_ 28 Nov 1891 vol 18 no 9 p 4 col 4
> "Mr. Bones, did you know that Mr. Ewing's arm has given him the finger."
>
> _Washington Post_ 7 Feb 1898 p 8 col 6 [ProQuest Hist Newspapers]
> "Denny Lyons' damaged digit, which gave him "the finger," so far as the
> big League is concerned, has mended, and Denny is open for an
> engagement."
>
> _Dallas Morning News_ 15 Jan 1938 sec 2 p 2 col 7 [Newsbank]
> "You'll always see him duck his head and take out for the bench, too,
> when he goes to the plate to lodge a protest and runs into an ump who
> can give him the finger while reeling off the rule covering the play
> word for word and tell him the page on which he will find it in the
> book."
>
> _Augusta [GA] Chronicle_ 5 Sep 1943 p a-4 col 7 [Newsbank]
> "I suspect it will be Uncle Sam who will come out loser on the spending
> in the long run.  A lot of the spenders will give him the finger for
> their taxes and eventually he will have to support them."
>
>
> Portland OR _Oregonian_ 29 May 1947 p 28 col 2 [Newsbank]
> "One ump gave him the finger over what Bartell calls "just a little
> argument, no names called at all" while the Sacs were at Vaugh street
> recently."
>
> _Augusta [GA] Chronicle_ 5 Sep 1947 p a-4 col 5 [Newsbank]
> "Ex-Gov. of Nebraska Griswold (head of Truman's Doctrine Commission in
> Greece) will resign.  Because, he says, Greek monarchists (and our State
> Dep't) are giving him "the finger." "
>
> _Hartford Courant_ 13 May 1953 p 23 col 6 [ProQuest Hist Newspapers]
> "Policeman Pacheco quoted Gililand as saying he was "not afraid of
> anyone." and charged that Twebble and his companions had given him the
> "finger." "
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
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>



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