"the finger" in 1932 Hollywood epic (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Mullins, Bill AMRDEC]

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf
> Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 7:29 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "the finger" in 1932 Hollywood epic
>
> Not exactly an antedating, though the evidence in HDAS is a little
> confusing. Put simply, the fig. sense "treat maliciously" is attested
(in
> Funk & Wagnalls!) in 1890-93, but the literal sense, in ref. to an
gesture
> is not clearly found till 1961.
>
>
>


_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."

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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