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gdaye
New Member
Canada
18 Posts |
 Posted - 07/26/2001 : 17:19:33
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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 be
incapable of fighting in the future.
This famous weapon was made of the native English Yew
tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known
as "plucking the 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!
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 for the longbow), 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".
Now for the REST of the story:
The battle of Agincourt left the French army (or what
was left of it) in complete disarray and with virtually
no esprit de corps at all. The astonished French could
only stand and gawk and count the arrows embedded in the
dead and wounded. One French corporal, with a mixture of
disbelief, awe, and admiration mumbled, "Each arrow hit!!!" as
he surveyed the destruction of
his proud war machine at the hands of a few English
bowman. The dazed remains of the French force harkened
and, echoed a cry born of confusion, fear, and
resignation - "Each hit, each hit, EACH HIT!!! rumbled
through the ragged ranks of the defeated.
And down to this very day, the remembrance of that
terrible and inspiring occasion at Agincourt is
celebrated every time an English bow-finger is raised to
the cry of "Pluck yew" and the time-honored reply
repeats the historic response of the brave, but defeated
French knights, "Each hit, each hit!!!"
Nolle Illegitimus Carborundum
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comradebillyboy
Skeptic Friend
USA
188 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2001 : 19:14:55 [Permalink]
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historical revisionism? i would almost be willing to buy the "pluck yew" part, but the french knights, not being english speakers, probably did not cry "each hit"! maybe they ridiculed the english horses by calling them "mangy mares" (mange merde for the creationists). in french it means about the same as "each hit".
comrade billyboy
Edited by - comradebillyboy on 07/26/2001 19:16:55 |
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2001 : 21:50:31 [Permalink]
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Hee hee! That's one of my favorite stories! The Battle of Agincourt, not the made up 'Pluck Yew' parts  . Good joke though. "Henry V" was a good movie, also.
Actually, I had heard the the word "fuck" meant "to knock", like on a door, originally.
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Ma gavte la nata! |
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Espritch
Skeptic Friend
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2001 : 23:11:37 [Permalink]
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Actually it's derived from a Norwegian word that means exactly the same thing it means in English. I guess it's just one of those words that doesn't need a lot of translation
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The Bad Astronomer
Skeptic Friend
137 Posts |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2001 : 17:25:04 [Permalink]
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Oh no! It's the dis-embodied Cydonia "Face on Mars" hand. Must be attached to the original "golden arm".
For the sake of size, - what apx would be the length index finger in this cosmic fickled finger of fate?
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2001 : 00:45:19 [Permalink]
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Also, let's not forget, that the British usually hold up two fingers, the index and the middle, to make their gesture. Maybe this is the gesture that originated at Agincourt, as it takes at least those two fingers to pull back a bow string.
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Ma gavte la nata! |
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Wendy
SFN Regular
USA
614 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2001 : 21:38:02 [Permalink]
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[quote]
Actually, I had heard the the word "fuck" meant "to knock", like on a door, originally.
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I believe the origin of the word "fuck" came from signs posted on the doors of married couples who had the King's permission to have sex - "Fornication Under Consent of the King"
Wendy Jones |
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2001 : 08:25:39 [Permalink]
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quote:
I believe the origin of the word "fuck" came from signs posted on the doors of married couples who had the King's permission to have sex - "Fornication Under Consent of the King"
Now that's an interesting theory! The etymology does seem to follow what was said above about coming from the word "fokken" or "fokka": quote:
Etymology: akin to Dutch fokken to breed (cattle), Swedish dialect fokka to copulate
But it'd be interesting to find out whether that is just a coincidence, and those signs were the actual origin. 
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Ma gavte la nata! |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2001 : 23:13:45 [Permalink]
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FUCK = For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
It was both a crime and a sentence. The acronym was painted on the houses of those women who were accused and convicted of the crime.
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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