Ron M Loc: Kitchener Ontario Canada

Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it. I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as 'plucking the yew' (or 'pluck yew').

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as 'giving the bird.'

And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing!

Ol' Frank Loc: Orlando,

I love learning ancient history. Makes me feel so educated.

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

Snopes has a good write up about this story -
http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.asp

bodacious Loc: Oregon

Hope I can get the wording right the next time I need to use this gesture. Learning is such a wondrous thing, thanks Ron.

Cape Codder Loc: Cape Cod

Thanks for the link to Snopes. The story did not ring true to me from what I know of history. I believe the f word came fron and AngloSaxon word which meant "to sow"--as one does sow his seed when he does the f. word.

bemused_bystander Loc: Orkney Islands, UK

The French did cut of the first two fingers of both hands of any captured English archers, so the English "insult" is the V sign, both fingers shown, to prove that the archers could shoot.

Also, the best Yew came from the hills of Spain, as slow growing trees were the best for making longbows.