what in the nine hells does your one-finger gesture actually *mean*? Seriously, what's it supposed to imitate?
Oookay. I suspect that there are a number of explanations for the more common ones, as every cultural group tends to have its own.
The middle-finger is a straight-up mimicry gesture; the Romans referred to the gesture as 'phallus impudicus'; and it meant exactly the same back then.
(I suspect that the usual size of an index finger also has something to do with the insult.)
The V-sign is a bit more interesting, in that there are two similar possible progenitors which can be traced back a thousand years or so.
Firstly - the mano fico; the sign of the fig; placing your thumb between your index and middle finger (which can be curled into a fist or more loosely held); the hand is then as often as not raised and/or waggled at the offender; it's a gesture supposed to mimic intercourse; essentially, 'fuck you'.
Canto XXV of the Inferno has Vanni Fucci doing it to God:
"At the conclusion of his words, the thief Lifted his hands aloft with both the figs, Crying: "Take that, God, for at thee I aim them." "
Shakespeare refers to the gesture as well in Henry V:
"FLUELLEN Certainly, aunchient, it is not a thing to rejoice at: for if, look you, he were my brother, I would desire the duke to use his good pleasure, and put him to execution; for discipline ought to be used.
PISTOL Die and be damn'd! and figo for thy friendship!"
As a politer form, the term 'fig' slipped into language as a minced oath; e.g. 'I couldn't give a fig'.
Secondly and less well-known is a Middle Eastern gesture of the same period (IIRC); instead of shoving your thumb between your first two fingers, you hold your fist up to your face, straighten and spread your first two fingers and poke your nose between them at the person you want to insult; the intended meaning is pretty much identical to the mano fico.
Either of these could well have made their way back to England as a result of the Crusades and survived in a slightly mutated form as the V-sign.
As for the gay slang; I've a couple of books on slang ( - including Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, which runs to some 1300 pages!). As you point out, there are a number of different terms, some of which would definitely not be used in polite society (e.g. 'brown hatter', which is IIRC pre-WWII and definitely 'music hall'). I'll see if I've got anything on the shelf that might be of help.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-10-16 01:35 pm (UTC)Oookay. I suspect that there are a number of explanations for the more common ones, as every cultural group tends to have its own.
The middle-finger is a straight-up mimicry gesture; the Romans referred to the gesture as 'phallus impudicus'; and it meant exactly the same back then.
(I suspect that the usual size of an index finger also has something to do with the insult.)
The V-sign is a bit more interesting, in that there are two similar possible progenitors which can be traced back a thousand years or so.
Firstly - the mano fico; the sign of the fig; placing your thumb between your index and middle finger (which can be curled into a fist or more loosely held); the hand is then as often as not raised and/or waggled at the offender; it's a gesture supposed to mimic intercourse; essentially, 'fuck you'.
Canto XXV of the Inferno has Vanni Fucci doing it to God:
"At the conclusion of his words, the thief
Lifted his hands aloft with both the figs,
Crying: "Take that, God, for at thee I aim them." "
Shakespeare refers to the gesture as well in Henry V:
"FLUELLEN
Certainly, aunchient, it is not a thing to rejoice
at: for if, look you, he were my brother, I would
desire the duke to use his good pleasure, and put
him to execution; for discipline ought to be used.
PISTOL
Die and be damn'd! and figo for thy friendship!"
As a politer form, the term 'fig' slipped into language as a minced oath; e.g. 'I couldn't give a fig'.
Secondly and less well-known is a Middle Eastern gesture of the same period (IIRC); instead of shoving your thumb between your first two fingers, you hold your fist up to your face, straighten and spread your first two fingers and poke your nose between them at the person you want to insult; the intended meaning is pretty much identical to the mano fico.
Either of these could well have made their way back to England as a result of the Crusades and survived in a slightly mutated form as the V-sign.
As for the gay slang; I've a couple of books on slang ( - including Cassell's Dictionary of Slang, which runs to some 1300 pages!). As you point out, there are a number of different terms, some of which would definitely not be used in polite society (e.g. 'brown hatter', which is IIRC pre-WWII and definitely 'music hall'). I'll see if I've got anything on the shelf that might be of help.