What exactly is flicking off. I thought it was sticking up your middle finger, but I don't know what it symbolizes. If you tell me, I won't be offended. :) lol
2006-07-07 09:48:36 · 13 answers · asked by getalife 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
It's actually called flipping people off and it means F you
2006-07-07 09:52:24 · answer #1 · answered by just me 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
: : The following, from Eric Partridge's "Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English," may be relevant although it makes no mention of the hand gesture. To give someone the bird is "to dismiss [him], send him about his business . . . late C. 19-20. [From] the theatre . . . In Australia, 'give the bird' is to treat with derision: from before 1916."
: : In obsolete theatrical usage (Partridge gives a date of 1883), "the bird" is defined as "a hissing of an actor," from the sound made by geese
The body part which the French proposed to cut off of the English after defeating them was, of course, the middle finger, without which it is impossible to draw the renowned English longbow. This famous weapon was made of the native English yew tree, and so the act of drawing the longbow was known as "plucking yew". Thus, when the victorious English waved their middle fingers at the defeated French, they said, "See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!"
Over the years some 'folk etymologies' have grown up around this symbolic gesture. Since "pluck yew" is rather difficult to say (like "pleasant mother pheasant plucker", which is who you had to go to for the feathers used on the arrows), 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 are mistakenly thought to have something to do with an intimate encounter. It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird".
2006-07-07 17:01:27 · answer #2 · answered by drlove 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's flipping someone off. Not flicking. And yes the middle finger is definately a part of it.
2006-07-07 16:51:38 · answer #3 · answered by sheeny 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sticking up your middle finger. And it's flipping not flicking.
very bad thing to do
2006-07-07 16:52:57 · answer #4 · answered by [[keetr//mary]] 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you mean "flipping" someone off. It does involve the middle finger and it's a really insulting thing to do to someone.
2006-07-07 16:52:53 · answer #5 · answered by nancy jo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's exactly what it means. Extending the middle finger 'till it reaches a 180 positiion and Voila~! You have just offended someone bigger than you and you run with swiftness...
2006-07-07 16:52:17 · answer #6 · answered by David C 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it means F*** you. Not a very nice thought . Also known as flipping someone off or flipping the bird.
2006-07-07 16:55:32 · answer #7 · answered by Tommy D 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it means your being a pest; and they're flicking you off.
2006-07-07 16:54:34 · answer #8 · answered by Swordfish 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You just want people to say bad things don't you?i'm pretty sure u know what it means.
2006-07-07 16:56:06 · answer #9 · answered by CHELA 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means you are using a very bad swear word, don't ever use it.
2006-07-07 16:50:53 · answer #10 · answered by cougarsrock55 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋