Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[midwayfair]

Not sure if it's true, but I like the story.  I've heard that the two (and later, one middle ) finger insult started out as three fingers.  Apparently the English soldiers would cut off the three middle fingers of French archers if they captured them.  It meant the archers could no longer arch, so they were now a useless soldier.  The French archers would insult the English at the start of battles by showing the three middle fingers. 

I'd like to believe it's true anyway,  it's too good a story.

Yeah, it's pretty much B.S. The gesture is not that old, and it makes no sense in historical context. You wouldn't mutilate captured soldiers, you'd execute them. And what's to stop them from using the rest of their fingers to draw the bow? You don't need a lot of precision to fire arrows in a 45 degree arc toward the bad guys on your captain's order.

[Muadzin]

Not sure if it's true, but I like the story.  I've heard that the two (and later, one middle ) finger insult started out as three fingers.  Apparently the English soldiers would cut off the three middle fingers of French archers if they captured them.  It meant the archers could no longer arch, so they were now a useless soldier.  The French archers would insult the English at the start of battles by showing the three middle fingers. 

I'd like to believe it's true anyway,  it's too good a story.

From what I gathered it was the other way around. Which makes more sense as it was English archers who wreaked havoc on French knights with their long bows. Never the other way around, as the French favored the crossbow more.

[mjg]

On this fascinating topic of language and gesture differences, I just read something that I'm not sure I believe.  It is this:

The thumbs-up sign does not mean "that's great" in Australia as it does here [in the US]. There, it means "up yours" or the painful-sounding "sit on it." Basically, you are telling a person that you hope he gets something inserted up his bottom.

Is that really true?

Not true as far as I'm concerned.  Thumbs up means good.  Two fingers or middle finger up means "up yours".   Maybe it has changed over time?  But certainly as far as I can remember, thumbs up has always meant "good" in Australia. 

[mjg]

Not sure if it's true, but I like the story.  I've heard that the two (and later, one middle ) finger insult started out as three fingers.  Apparently the English soldiers would cut off the three middle fingers of French archers if they captured them.  It meant the archers could no longer arch, so they were now a useless soldier.  The French archers would insult the English at the start of battles by showing the three middle fingers. 

I'd like to believe it's true anyway,  it's too good a story.

Yeah, it's pretty much B.S. The gesture is not that old, and it makes no sense in historical context. You wouldn't mutilate captured soldiers, you'd execute them. And what's to stop them from using the rest of their fingers to draw the bow? You don't need a lot of precision to fire arrows in a 45 degree arc toward the bad guys on your captain's order.

Yeah, I was more hoping it was true than believing it would be.  Although...have you tried to draw a traditional long bow?  I suspect it would be pretty damn hard when missing the three middle fingers.

[stringsthings]

I like cake!   (... and flippin' people off ...   )

[alanp]

Huh, just learnt that the Fiat Bambina was also sold as the Fiat 500... never knew!

Dad had a Bambina for a little while. I suspect Mum made him sell it due to the size -- even as an easily impressed little kid, I remember thinking, WOW, that is a tiny car!

[Willybomb]

The french were more inclined to use crossbows.  My understanding was that (english) poachers often had the middle two amputated as punishment.

[nzCdog]

Cute 

[juansolo]

Having a quick read, the legend is that it was allegedly English longbowmen to the French who were essentially showing that they had their fingers. The story goes that the French would cut off the fingers of captured archers... That said, taking prisoners wasn't much of a thing then, hence people think it's probably bollocks.

Here's an example of how to use the V sign jovially to someone you'd rather not have photographed you.

[EBK]

Edit:  [content deleted]

[alanp]

Go carefully with the politics.

[EBK]

Go carefully with the politics.

Good advice. 
I'm trying.I've deleted my previous comment. 

[alanp]

The golden oldie stations here like playing Don McLean's "American Pie".

I've never liked it myself.

All the unbelievably oblique references feel like when you're invited to an acquaintance's party, but you don't know anyone there (except the acquaintance, who is NOT at friend level yet), and they are all using in-clique references, and nothing you can add to the conversation about.

[Leevibe]

Hate that song with a purple passion. Thanks for making it ring in my head!!

[Muadzin]

I quite like American Pie. So maybe I don't get all the references any more, are you still able to get all the pop culture references when you watch a 60's or 70's movie? How much of the culture reference can you still understand when you're watching a 1930's Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy movie? I reckon true staying power of a song, book or movie is when it manages to survive the era of its creation and still be enjoyed by new people.

So American Pie is getting a little obscure, it's still a fun catchy song that you can still play in a club or bar and have young people sing along. In fact I have seen young people sing along to it in a bar.