Why do we show the middle-finger when we are angry?

Answer 1

its only the British that find it offencive. in Europe biting ur thumb with the nail down and flicking out towards another person is offencive and so is holding ur hand flat finger nails up and brushing them under ur chin out towards the other person. I used to work with a Italian bloke and asked what they meant one day, he wouldn't tell me and i thought the poor bloke was going to cry. I have found out since then that the second one is a very bad insult towards his mother. i wasn't doing it to be horrible just trying to find out a bit more about other cultures, we actually got on really well.

Answer 2

The origin of this gesture is highly speculative, but is quite possibly up to 2500 years old. It is identified as the digitus impudicus ('impudent finger') in Ancient Roman writings [1] and reference is made to using the finger in the Ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes. It was defined there as a gesture intended to insult another. It has been noted that the gesture resembles an erect penis.[citation needed]Ancient Romans also considered an image of an erect phallus as a talisman against evil spells. As a consequence, displaying this gesture to another may not have been a pseudo-sexual insult but rather an insulting statement along the lines of "I'm going to protect myself against your witchcraft, before you even start," but an even earlier reference[citation needed] is made to ancient farmers using this finger to test hens for coming eggs.

It has long been told that the famous "two-fingers salute" and/or "V sign" derives from the gestures of English archers, fighting at Agincourt. The myth claims that the French cut off two fingers on the right hand of captured archers and that the gesture was a sign of defiance by those who were not mutilated.

Answer 3

The origin of this gesture is highly speculative, but is quite possibly up to 2500 years old. It is identified as the digitus impudicus ('impudent finger') in Ancient Roman writings [1] and reference is made to using the finger in the Ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes. It was defined there as a gesture intended to insult another. It has been noted that the gesture resembles an erect penis.[citation needed]Ancient Romans also considered an image of an erect phallus as a talisman against evil spells. As a consequence, displaying this gesture to another may not have been a pseudo-sexual insult but rather an insulting statement along the lines of "I'm going to protect myself against your witchcraft, before you even start," but an even earlier reference[citation needed] is made to ancient farmers using this finger to test hens for coming eggs.

It has long been told that the famous "two-fingers salute" and/or "V sign" derives from the gestures of English archers, fighting at Agincourt. The myth claims that the French cut off two fingers on the right hand of captured archers and that the gesture was a sign of defiance by those who were not mutilated.

Jean Froissart (circa 1337-circa 1404) was a historian and the author of Froissart's Chronicles, a document that is essential to an understanding of Europe in the fourteenth century and to the twists and turns taken by the Hundred Years' War. The story of the English waving their fingers at the French is told in the first person account by Jean Froissart. However, the description is not of an incident at the Battle of Agincourt, but rather at the siege of a castle nearby in the Hundred Years' War. Adding to the evidence is that by all accounts Jean Froissart died before the battle actually took place; it was therefore rather difficult for him to have written about it.

Answer 4

Does it mean 'Sit on this' ?

Interestingly the 2 finger salute comes from Anglo French wars. The French hated and feared the English Longbow archers, and would cut off their bow string (drawing) fingers if they were taken prisoner. As a result, English soldiers gave the 2 finger salute to the French to show that theirs were still intact...

Answer 5

cause for some reason, some drunk bastard was pissed of at someone thousands of years ago. And to show his frutration towards the other guy, he stuck out his middle finger. It has been like that since.

Answer 6

middle finger is the icon of ccock, just to warn I will fcuk em LOL

Answer 7

Partly because we have seen it done so much ,that it has become a conditioned reflex.

Answer 8

cause its the longest finger and it beats smilin

Answer 9

I think it's a 'spin on that' gesture

Answer 10

Because it makes us feel better.