History of gesture
Posted by R. Berg on January 08, 2002
In Reply to: Explanations posted by R. Berg on January 08, 2002
: : : : : Where does the phrase "flipping someone the bird" come from?
: : : : I couldn't find anything on the use of "bird" for finger in this phrase.
: : : The following, from Eric Partridge's
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English may be relevant although it
makes no mention of the hand gesture. To give someone the bird is "to dismiss
[him], send him about his business . . . late C. 19-20. [From] the theatre . .
. In Australia, 'give the bird' is to treat with derision: from before 1916."
: : : In obsolete theatrical usage (Partridge gives a date of 1883), "the
bird" is defined as "a hissing of an actor," from the sound made by geese.
: : I'm wondering whether we can point the finger at Cockney rhyming slang again here... always a useful last resort. Could "bird" be rhyming slang for "third", as in third finger? Or is this too far-fetched?
: Being far-fetched or not isn't an important criterion. Sometimes the correct explanation is less intuitively plausible than the incorrect ones. Maybe "bird" originated as rhyming slang, maybe not--what we need is some historical evidence.
The Straight Dope has a column on the history of the gesture, which is ancient but doesn't explain its name.
- History of gesture Chris Yate
01/10/02
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- History of gesture Sauerkraut 01/11/02