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Pluck yew/ middle finger

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By *bony in Ivory OP   Couple
over a year ago

Black&White Utopia

Found this and never knew how this originated.... History Of The Middle Finger

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluckyew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, "See, we can still pluck yew! "PLUCK YEW!" Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodental fricative 'F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!

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

And yew thought yew knew everything!

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By *icolerobbieCouple
over a year ago

walsall

I always thought the single finger salute meant "up yours"...

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By *icketysplitsWoman
over a year ago

Way over Yonder, that's where I'm bound

That is interesting. I like the sound of a "labiodental fricative 'F'".

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By *bony in Ivory OP   Couple
over a year ago

Black&White Utopia


"That is interesting. I like the sound of a "labiodental fricative 'F'". "
lol posh aint it!!

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By *ong-legged-divaTV/TS
over a year ago

Fleetwood

The term "cock up" also comes from archery, the cock feather, now also known as a vein or flight, is the feather at 90 degrees to the nock, that's the slit at the back of the arrow where it's resting on the string. The cock feather should always point away from the bow allowing all the flights to clear the bow safely. If it's but on the string upside down, I.e. cock up, the flights will be stripped from the arrow, hence we get the term

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By *bony in Ivory OP   Couple
over a year ago

Black&White Utopia


"I always thought the single finger salute meant "up yours"..."
yeap me too, tho reading that it does make sence

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By *ickedxxxCouple
over a year ago

Birmingham

I was told this while I was at school but not for the middle finger but both fingers as in the two finger salute and the two fingers used to pull the bow however we was not told about the pluck yew lol but whichever story is true both finger gestures will do fine when swearing at the French.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

also the v sign was shown to the French to show that the English archers had both fingers

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By *bony in Ivory OP   Couple
over a year ago

Black&White Utopia


"The term "cock up" also comes from archery, the cock feather, now also known as a vein or flight, is the feather at 90 degrees to the nock, that's the slit at the back of the arrow where it's resting on the string. The cock feather should always point away from the bow allowing all the flights to clear the bow safely. If it's but on the string upside down, I.e. cock up, the flights will be stripped from the arrow, hence we get the term "
oh I like a vein in a cock up!

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By *ong-legged-divaTV/TS
over a year ago

Fleetwood

No self respecting archer would ever pull a bow with just the first two fingers,

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By *icolerobbieCouple
over a year ago

walsall


"I always thought the single finger salute meant "up yours"...yeap me too, tho reading that it does make sence "

Could be.

I heard a similar one about the French cutting the index and middle finger from English archers, hence the two fingered salute but Stephen Fry debunked it on QI as the salute had been documented long before then.

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By *bony in Ivory OP   Couple
over a year ago

Black&White Utopia


"I was told this while I was at school but not for the middle finger but both fingers as in the two finger salute and the two fingers used to pull the bow however we was not told about the pluck yew lol but whichever story is true both finger gestures will do fine when swearing at the French. "

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