Yehudit, the lower picture IS the equivalent of a raised middle figer. Ask any Brit, who will also understand the first picture, correctly, as “victory”.
Patrick’s comment derives from the story that this lower gesture came from English longbowmen who showed this to the French to say they were still able to “pluck yew,” i.e. shoot. The story goes that this was the genesis of the modern admonition that sounds like “pluck yew.”
I have no idea if that story is true, but it’s entertaining.
You know, if McGruder’s goal was to get talked about a lot it’s certainly working.
uh, shouldn’t that be “index finger for the Iraqis” and “middle finger for McGruder”?
AL, I didn’t know you were a longbowman. 🙂
Yehudit, the lower picture IS the equivalent of a raised middle figer. Ask any Brit, who will also understand the first picture, correctly, as “victory”.
Patrick’s comment derives from the story that this lower gesture came from English longbowmen who showed this to the French to say they were still able to “pluck yew,” i.e. shoot. The story goes that this was the genesis of the modern admonition that sounds like “pluck yew.”
I have no idea if that story is true, but it’s entertaining.
Alas, the story Joe mentioned is a “myth”:http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.htm.