snip "See, we can still pluck yew! PLUCK YEW!" Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, 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 used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as "giving the bird".
~Hanan :) Dear Hanan, The f-word actually came from the entries in the court records of Merrie Olde England. When a person was convicted of Fornication and Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, the initals were entered into the books, thus saving a LOT of tedious repetition. (Pretty common in those days, just as it is now. sigh... )Thus the initials ended up becoming a word. The finger is all too obvious, just look at what it is meant to, and does, resemble... "Pluck Yew" is really straining at a gnat to swallow a camel. Marsha -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
