"the finger" in 1932 Hollywood epic (UNCLASSIFIED)

[paul johnson]

In the late 40s and early 50'sthe finger was given from closeted fist
and as the finger popped open you could often here, "Like fishes perch,
sit on this" My earliest assumption was someone was going to shove a
finger up your (dare I say it) butthole.

On 5/14/2012 11:30 AM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC wrote:
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
>> -
>>
>> I never questioned it, but when you flip the finger, the usual gesture
>> involves not flipping up a finger from a closed wrist, but rather
>> folding down the other four in a somewhat symmetrical manner--like
>> flapping wings
>>
>>       VS-)
>>
> I know two ways of flipping the bird:
>
> Hold a closed fist up, with the back of the hand towards the intended
> recipient, then raise the middle finger OR
>
> Hold a hand up with four fingers together and extended, with the back of
> the hand towards the intended recipient, and then draw down the 1st,
> 3rd, and 4th fingers.  Don't draw them into a fist, but curl them so
> that the 3rd knuckle is still unbent.
>
> When I was in fourth grade, there was a significance as to which kind of
> bird one was shooting (the fist one wasn't as offensive, as I recall --
> it certainly wasn't as cool as the other), but the details escape me at
> this advanced age.  There also was a way of weaving the two hands
> together, each one held similarly to the 2nd method above -- a double
> bird.
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

--
I'm supposed to respect my elders,but it’s getting harder and harder for
me to find one now.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org