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What is the origin of the thumb with the middle finger

randomuser
edited April 2008 in General
I remember when I was a kid it was enough to just middle finger someone then gradually I noticed people added their thumb, what was the origin of this

Comments

  • siuying
    edited April 2008
    hmm... interesting question.. i always thought it was a matter of convenience... where you flip the bird and the thumb just sorta sits where it belongs as opposed to tucking it behind your forefinger.. plus it's easier to flip the middle finger and not care abt the thumb since it is out of the center of attention as far as the middle finger is concerned.. but i could be wrong on this..
  • Insatiable
    edited April 2008
    I'm not certain, but I remember reading somewhere that extending the middle finger with the thumb is more of a European distinction, particularly Spanish and Portuguese.
  • lazyGUY
    edited April 2008
    Insatiable;25783 said:
    I'm not certain, but I remember reading somewhere that extending the middle finger with the thumb is more of a European distinction, particularly Spanish and Portuguese.
    In europe they dont throw up the finger... Their equivalent is a peace sign in reverse.
  • Insatiable
    edited April 2008
    lazyGUY;25785 said:
    In europe they dont throw up the finger... Their equivalent is a peace sign in reverse.
    Yea they do! The bowfinger (reversed peace sign) is used nowhere in Europe, except the UK. In continental Europe, the bent elbow is used more widely (which denotes roughly the same thing as the finger). I'm pretty positive that the middle finger and its variants used both in Europe and in North America.
  • Shi2
    edited April 2008
    I think adding the thumb doesn't change the meaning. People just do it because they think it's cool to add some new variation.
  • nicole
    edited April 2008
    In the Netherlands they use the middle finger and the ring ringer, not sure about the rest of Europe.
  • JayDub
    edited April 2008
    The middle finger + ring finger + thumb was made popular by Dane Cook and is called the Su-Fi or the Super-Finger.
  • Kevin M.Kevin M.
    edited April 2008
    I think she meant without the ring finger...I think it became cool because rockers were doing it lol...no, seriously
  • lazyGUY
    edited April 2008
    Insatiable;25786 said:
    Yea they do! The bowfinger (reversed peace sign) is used nowhere in Europe, except the UK. In continental Europe, the bent elbow is used more widely (which denotes roughly the same thing as the finger). I'm pretty positive that the middle finger and its variants used both in Europe and in North America.
    ahhh..never knew that..very knowledgeable in sign language i see..lol

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