That’s what I heard, but the fellah who told us both might have been making it up
Comment on Anthropology
MataVatnik@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Well, the middle finger use to represent the ability to draw a bow. Unless I’m making shit up.
eating3645@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Mr_Fish@lemmy.world 2 months ago
That’s middle and index fingers, with the palm facing backwards. Just a backwards peace sign.
digehode@lemmy.world 2 months ago
In the UK two fingers up is a rude gesture and it comes from battles with the french. If they caught a British archer they removed those fingers so they couldn’t fire a bow. So sticking them up at the enemy and gesturing was showing they had them and would use them to fire arrows at them. I am not an historian, though, and this could just be one of those tales that sounds so true everyone believes it and passes it on.
smeg@feddit.uk 2 months ago
Live_your_lives@lemmy.world 2 months ago
According to Wikipedia, it originated in ancient Greece and has always meant the same thing as it does now.