{{Short description|Obscene raising of the middle finger}} {{Pp-semi-indef}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}} {{For|fingers in general, see [[Finger]]. For other uses|Finger (disambiguation)}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}[[Image:Givingthefinger.jpg|thumb|200px|An example of "giving the middle finger"]]
Giving someone '''the (middle) finger''', also known as '''flipping the bird'''<ref name="Kipfer" /> or '''flipping someone off''',<ref name="Kipfer" /> is an [[obscene hand gesture]]. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "''[[fuck]] you''", "''fuck off''", "''go fuck yourself''", "''shove it up your ass/arse''" or "''up yours''". It is performed by showing the back of a hand that has only the [[middle finger]] extended upwards, though in some locales, the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially in the [[Western world]]. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use them to express pointing without intentional disrespect. The gesture is usually used to express contempt, but can also be used humorously or playfully.
The gesture dates back to [[ancient Greece]], and it was also used in [[ancient Rome]]. Historically, it represented a [[phallus]]. In the early 1800s, it gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect and was used by music artists (notably more common among actors, celebrities, athletes, and politicians; most still view the gesture as obscene). In more contemporary periods, the bent [[index finger|index]] and [[ring finger|ring]] fingers on each side of the middle finger have been likened to represent the [[testicles]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rosewarne|first1=Lauren|title=American Taboo: The Forbidden Words, Unspoken Rules, and Secret Morality of Popular culture|date=2013|page=51 |publisher=Abc-Clio |isbn=9780313399343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XWijAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA51 }}</ref>
==Classical era== [[File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Diogenes - Walters 37131.jpg|thumb|The [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynic philosopher]] [[Diogenes of Sinope|Diogenes]], pictured by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme|Gérôme]] with the large jar in which he lived; when strangers at the inn were expressing their wish to catch sight of the great orator [[Demosthenes]], Diogenes is said to have stuck out his middle finger and exclaimed "This, for you, is the [[Demagogue#History and definition of the word|demagogue]] of the [[Classical Athens|Athenians]]."<ref name="Laërtius"/>]]
The middle finger gesture was used in ancient times as a symbol of sexual intercourse, in a manner meant to degrade, intimidate, and threaten the individual receiving the gesture.<ref name="sanjose"/> It also represented the [[phallus]], with the fingers next to the middle finger representing [[testicle]]s;<ref name="offensive" /> from its close association, the gesture may have assumed [[Apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] potency.<ref name="Corbeill"/> In the 1st-century [[Mediterranean]] world, extending the ''finger'' was one of many methods used to divert the ever-present threat of the [[evil eye]].<ref name="The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology"/>
In [[Greek language|Greek]], the gesture was known as the ''katápygon''<ref name="tufts" /><ref name="Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient Greek World"/> (''κατάπυγον'', from ''kata'' – κατά, "downwards"<ref name="tufts1"/> and ''pugē'' – πυγή, "rump, buttocks"<ref name="tufts2"/>). In [[ancient Greek comedy]], the finger was a gesture of [[insult]] toward another person, with the term ''katapugon'' also referring to "a male who submits to anal penetration"<ref name="Not the classical ideal: Athens and the construction of the other in Greek art"/> or ''katapygaina'' to a female.<ref name="The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece"/> In [[Aristophanes]]'s comedy ''[[The Clouds]]'' (423 BC),<ref name="Dover"/> when the character [[Socrates]] is quizzing his student on [[Metre (poetry)|poetic meters]], Strepsiades declares that he knows quite well what a [[Dactyl (poetry)|dactyl]] is, and gives the finger. The gesture is a visual pun on the two meanings of the Greek word ''daktylos'', both "[[dactyly|finger]]" and the rhythmic measure composed of a long syllable and two short, like the joints of a finger ({{nowrap|<sup>— ‿ ‿</sup>,}} which also appears as a visual pun on the penis and testicles in a [[Medieval Latin literature|medieval Latin text]]<ref name="The Latin Sexual Vocabulary"/>). Socrates called one who made the gesture "boorish and stupid."<ref name="Dover"/><ref name="Clouds (ll. 650-6)"/> The gesture recurs as a form of mockery in ''[[Peace (play)|Peace]]'', alongside farting in someone's face.<ref name="Peace (ll. 546-9)"/><ref name="tufts3"/> The usage is later explained in the ''[[Suda]]'' and included in the ''[[Adagia]]'' of [[Erasmus]].<ref name="stoa"/><ref name="Adages III.iii.87"/> The verb "to play the [[Sifnos|Siphnian]]" appears in a fragment of Aristophanes and has a similar meaning.<ref name="tufts4"/><ref name="The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy"/> The usage is once again explained in the ''Suda'', where it is said to mean "to touch the anus with a finger."<ref name="stoa5"/> [[Diogenes Laërtius]] records how the [[Cynicism (philosophy)|Cynic philosopher]] [[Diogenes of Sinope]] directed the gesture at the orator [[Demosthenes]] in 4th-century BC [[Classical Athens|Athens]].<ref name="Laërtius"/> In the ''[[Discourses of Epictetus]]'', Diogenes's target is instead one of the [[sophists]].<ref name="Discourses of Epictetus III.2.i"/>
[[File:Romanwallinscotl00macduoft raw 0479stone busts.png|thumb|right|Roman stone busts from [[Bar Hill Fort]], [[Scotland]]. [[Silenus]] and a bearded man with middle finger extended in the "infamis digitus" to ward off the [[evil eye]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=George |title=The Roman wall in Scotland |date=1911 |publisher=J. Maclehose |location=Glasgow |edition=1 |url=https://archive.org/stream/romanwallinscotl00macduoft#page/n475/mode/2up |access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref> A video of the figure on the right has been made.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bust of Silenus, Bar Hill |date=June 18, 2014 |url=https://vimeo.com/98561641 |access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>]]
In [[Latin]], the middle finger was the ''digitus [[Homosexuality in ancient Rome#Impudicitia|impudicus]]'', meaning the "shameless, indecent or offensive finger".<ref name="offensive" /> In the 1st century AD, [[Persius]] had superstitious female relatives concoct a charm with the "infamous finger" (''digitus [[Infamia|infamis]]'') and "purifying spit"<ref name="Satires II.33" /><ref name="Adages II.iv.68" /> while in the ''[[Satyricon]]'', an old woman uses dust, spit and her middle finger to mark the forehead before casting a spell.<ref name="Satyricon 131" /> The poet [[Martial]] has a character in good health extend "the indecent one" toward three doctors.<ref name="offensive" /><ref name="Epigrammata VI.70.5" /> In another [[Martial#Martial's Epigrams|epigram]], Martial wrote: "Laugh loud, Sextillus, at whoever calls you a ''[[Cinaedus#Cinaedus|cinaedus]]'' and extend your middle finger."<ref name="Epigrammata II.28.1-2" /><ref name="Roman Homosexuality" /> [[Juvenal]], through [[synecdoche]], has the "middle [[Fingernail|nail]]" cocked at threatening [[Fortuna]].<ref name="Satire X.52-3" /> The indecent finger features again in a mocking context in the ''[[Priapeia]]'', a collection of poems relating to the phallic god [[Priapus]].<ref name="Corbeill" /> In [[Late Antiquity]], the term "shameless finger" is explained in the ''[[Etymologiae]]'' of [[Isidore of Seville]] with reference to its frequent use when accusing someone of a "shameful action."<ref name="The Body Legal in Barbarian Law" />
==Modern era==
===United States=== [[Image:Old Hoss Radbourn finger.jpg|thumb|[[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Braves]] baseball pitcher [[Charles Radbourn|Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn]] pictured giving the finger to a cameraman, 1886. First known photograph of the gesture.<ref name="Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had" />]]
Linguist [[Jesse Sheidlower]] traces the gesture's development in the [[United States]] to the 1890s. According to anthropologist [[Desmond Morris]], the gesture probably came to the United States via [[Italian immigrants]]. The first documented appearance of the finger in the United States was in 1886, when [[Charles Radbourn|Old Hoss Radbourn]], a [[baseball]] [[pitcher]] for the [[History of the Boston Braves|Boston Beaneaters]], was photographed giving it to a member of their rival the [[History of the New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jefe |first=El |date=2022-07-01 |title=There’s Nothing More American than Professional Athletes Flipping Off Fans |url=https://www.statholesports.com/theres-nothing-more-american-than-professional-athletes-flipping-off-fans/ |access-date=2025-09-03 |website=Stathole Sports |language=en-US}}</ref>
Use of this gesture in public, while vulgar, is legal, as it is considered expressive communication protected by the First Amendment. In some cases, offended police officers who have had the insulting gesture displayed to them have stopped, ticketed, or arrested people for doing so. However, it is neither a crime nor even probable cause to stop a person, and a police officer who does so violates "a clearly established constitutional right", and does not have qualified immunity if they do so, which means they can be sued for monetary damages for the unlawful stop and/or arrest. ''Cruise-Gulyas v. Minard'' 918 F.3d 494 (2019).{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
===Canada=== In 2023, in a ruling issued February 24 regarding a Canadian man who was accused of criminal harassment and uttering threats, [[Quebec]] court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos wrote, "To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger", and, "Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability." The accused man was acquitted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cp24.com/mobile/news/giving-the-middle-finger-is-a-god-given-right-says-quebec-judge-1.6304963|title=Giving the middle finger is a 'God-given' right, says Quebec judge|first=Jacob|last=Serebrin|date=March 8, 2023|website=CP24}}</ref>
===Early appearance in films=== During a wedding sequence in one of [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s silent films, ''[[The Ring (1927 film)|The Ring]]'' (1927), a misunderstanding results in the ringbearer giving the finger to another member of the wedding party, to comedic effect.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
In the film ''[[Speedy (film)|Speedy]]'' (1928), [[Harold Lloyd]]'s character gives himself the finger into a distorting mirror at [[Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903)|Luna Park]], about 25 minutes into the film.<ref name="Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd" />
==Political and military use== The gesture has been involved in political events. During the {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}} incident, in which an American ship was captured by North Korea, the captured American crewmembers often discreetly gave the finger in staged photo ops, undermining the [[North Korea]]ns' use of the images in their propaganda. The North Koreans, ignorant of what the gesture meant, were at first told by the prisoners that it was a "Hawaiian good luck sign", similar to the [[Shaka sign|shaka]]. When the guards finally figured things out, the crewmembers were subjected to extremely severe beatings.<ref name="The Digit Affair" /> [[Abbie Hoffman]] used the gesture at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention]].<ref name="sanjose" /> [[Ronald Reagan]], while serving as the [[Governor of California]], gave the middle finger to [[counterculture]] protesters in [[Berkeley, California]].<ref name="sanjose" /> [[Nelson Rockefeller]], then the [[Vice President of the United States]], directed the gesture to hecklers at a 1976 campaign stop near [[Binghamton, New York]], leading it to be called the "Rockefeller gesture".<ref name="sanjose" /> In 1982, [[Pierre Trudeau]], then the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], gave the finger to protesters in [[Salmon Arm, British Columbia]],<ref name="Top aide put on spot over Trudeau's one-finger gesture" /> earning the incident the nickname the "Salmon Arm salute".<ref>{{Cite web|title = One-finger salute crude to Ont. Film Review Bd.|url = http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/one-finger-salute-crude-to-ont-film-review-bd-1.368040|website = Toronto|date = February 7, 2009|access-date = October 9, 2015|archive-date = July 3, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170703084528/http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/one-finger-salute-crude-to-ont-film-review-bd-1.368040|url-status = dead}}</ref> The gesture itself has also been nicknamed the "Trudeau salute".<ref>{{cite news |last=Hopper |first=Tristin |date=August 22, 2016 |title=A B.C. museum says it's preserved the railcar from which Pierre Trudeau gave the finger to protesters |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/a-b-c-museum-says-its-preserved-the-railcar-from-which-pierre-trudeau-gave-the-finger-to-protesters |work=[[National Post]] |access-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref> Former president [[George W. Bush]] gave the finger to the camera at an Austin production facility during his term as governor of Texas, saying it was "just a one-finger victory salute."<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507110217/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_bylg-Jjz8 |title=Bush's One-Fingered Victory Salute |date=March 24, 2006 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_bylg-Jjz8 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=13 December 2019 |archive-date=May 7, 2010 |language=en}}</ref> [[Anthony Weiner]] gave the finger to reporters after leaving his election headquarters the night he lost the [[New York City mayoral election, 2013|2013 primary election]] for [[Mayor of New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/11/weiner-dodges-sexting-partner-flips-the-bird-as-he-rides-off/|title=Weiner dodges sexting partner, flips the bird as he rides off|first1=Laura|last1=Dolan|first2=Rosa|last2=Flores|first3=Tim|last3=McCaughan|work=[[CNN.com]]|date=September 11, 2013|access-date=September 11, 2013|archive-date=September 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911083538/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/11/weiner-dodges-sexting-partner-flips-the-bird-as-he-rides-off/|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the campaign for the [[German federal election, 2013|2013 German federal election]], the leading candidate of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]], [[Peer Steinbrück]] controversially gave the finger in a photo interview with ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> ''Magazin'' supplement.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Maroldt|first1=Lorenz|title=Peer Steinbrück und die "Stinkefinger"-Pose. Sie können ihn mal|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/meinung/peer-steinbrueck-und-die-stinkefinger-pose-sie-koennen-ihn-mal/8783758.html|newspaper=[[Der Tagesspiegel]]|access-date=16 May 2018|language=de|date=13 September 2013}}</ref>
During [[World War II]], the [[91st Bombardment Group]] of the [[United States Army Air Forces]] referred to the gesture as the "rigid digit" salute. It was used in a more jocular manner, to suggest an airman had committed an error or infraction; the term was a reference to British slang terms for inattentiveness (i.e. "pull your finger out (of your bum)").<ref name="Freeman" /> The "order of the rigid digit" continued after the war as a series of awards presented by the veteran's association of the 91st, marked by wooden statuettes of a hand giving the single finger gesture.<ref name="91stbombgroup" /> In 2005, during the [[war in Iraq]], [[Gunnery Sergeant]] Michael Burghardt gained prominence when the [[Omaha World-Herald]] published a photo of Burghardt making the gesture towards Iraqi insurgents he believed to be watching after an [[improvised explosive device]] failed to kill him.<ref>{{snopes|link=http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/burghardt.asp|title=Michael Burghardt}}</ref>
The middle finger has been involved in judicial hearings. An [[appellate court]] in [[Hartford, Connecticut]] ruled in 1976 that gesturing with the middle finger was offensive, but not obscene, after a police officer charged a 16-year-old with making an obscene gesture when the student gave the officer the middle finger.<ref name="Raising middle finger not obscene, judges say" /> The case was appealed to the [[Connecticut Supreme Court]],<ref name="Leonard Backing Court Appeal On Middle Finger" /> which upheld the decision.<ref name="moving finger" /> In March 2006, a federal lawsuit was filed regarding the free speech issue.<ref name="Middle finger salute leads to federal lawsuit" />
Giving the finger has resulted in negative consequences. A Malaysian man was bludgeoned to death after giving the finger to a motorist following a car chase.<ref name="A fatal finger gesture" /> A Pakistani man was deported by the United Arab Emirates for the gesture, which violates indecency codes.<ref name="Dubai: Deportation for finger gesture man - News" />
People have given the finger as a method of [[political protest]]. At a concert, [[Ricky Martin]] gave a picture of [[George W. Bush]] the finger to protest the War in Iraq.<ref name="google" /> Serbian protesters gave the finger to the Russian embassy regarding their support of [[Slobodan Milošević]].<ref name="google6" /> Artist [[Ai Weiwei]] has used the finger in photographs and sculptures as a political statement.<ref name="MOMA - The Collection - Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square" /> As a political message to the Czech President [[Miloš Zeman]], Czech artist [[David Černý]] floated an outsize, purple statue of a hand on the River Vltava in Prague; its middle finger extended towards Prague Castle, the Presidential seat.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24607870 |access-date=11 May 2023 |title=Czech floating finger sends president message|work=BBC News|date=October 21, 2013}}</ref> Černý had also mounted a middle finger on a pink former Soviet tank from the [[Monument to Soviet Tank Crews]] in 1991.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wright|first1=Patrick|title=Why a pink tank made Prague see red by Patrick Wright (first published in the Guardian, 25 July 1991)|url=http://www.patrickwright.net/wp-content/uploads/pwright-pink-tank.pdf|access-date=15 April 2017|work=The Guardian|date=25 July 1991|archive-date=July 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727234837/http://www.patrickwright.net/wp-content/uploads/pwright-pink-tank.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011–2012, the pink tank with the finger was displayed again on a barge on the Vltava.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
In 2017, [[Juli Briskman]] gave the finger to the motorcade of [[Donald Trump]] as it drove past her while bicycling, and a photograph that went [[Viral phenomenon|viral]] forced her to resign from her job as a marketing executive. However, the notoriety may have been favorable in her [[2019 Virginia elections|2019 election]] to the [[board of supervisors]] for [[Loudoun County, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Paul |last=LeBlanc |access-date=11 May 2023 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/05/politics/juli-briskman-trump-motorcade-flipped-off-local-office-win/index.html|title=Cyclist who flipped off Trump motorcade wins local office in Virginia |work=[[CNN]] |date=November 6, 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Stamp of Ukraine s1985.jpg|thumb|[[Russian Warship, go fuck yourself (stamp)|Ukrainian postage stamp]] featuring a Ukrainian soldier in battle dress flipping off the ''[[Russian cruiser Moskva|Moskva]]'']] On February 24, 2022, the first day of the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the Russian missile cruiser ''[[Russian cruiser Moskva|Moskva]]''<ref>{{Cite news |title=Russian Warship Moskva Is Featured in New Ukrainian Postage Stamp |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-04-14/card/russian-warship-moskva-is-featured-in-new-ukrainian-postage-stamp-6qEW3wsyWdSsEP7CeVWq |access-date=15 April 2022 |newspaper=WSJ |language=en}}</ref> attacked [[Snake Island (Ukraine)|Snake Island]] as part of the [[2022 Snake Island campaign]]. The [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] border guard Roman Hrybov's last communication with the warship was "[[Russian warship, go fuck yourself]]". This was memorialized on a set of Ukrainian commemorative [[Postage stamps and postal history of Ukraine|postage stamps]] on April 12<ref name="stamp-0">{{Cite web |date=12 April 2022 |title=Укрпошта випустила мільйон поштових марок "Русскій воєнний корабль, іді …!" |url=https://www.ukrposhta.ua/ua/news/57619-ukrposhta-issued-one-million-postage-stamps-russian-warship-fk-you |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220415153404/https://www.ukrposhta.ua/ua/news/57619-ukrposhta-issued-one-million-postage-stamps-russian-warship-fk-you |archive-date=15 April 2022 |access-date=15 April 2022 |website=Ukrposhta |language=uk}}</ref><ref>[https://www.rnd.de/panorama/ukrainische-post-hat-neue-briefmarke-mit-stinkefinger-fuer-die-russen-STSY3IHFB6W52EMY5TDZIT3NFY.html Stinkefinger für die Russen: Ukrainische Post bringt neue Briefmarke heraus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414050556/https://www.rnd.de/panorama/ukrainische-post-hat-neue-briefmarke-mit-stinkefinger-fuer-die-russen-STSY3IHFB6W52EMY5TDZIT3NFY.html |date=14 April 2022 }}. In: rnd.de. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022. (in German)</ref> with the text "Russian warship, fuck you!" and a drawing of a Ukrainian soldier presenting the middle finger to the Russian cruiser.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Russian Warship Moskva Is Featured in New Ukrainian Postage Stamp |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/russia-ukraine-latest-news-2022-04-14/card/russian-warship-moskva-is-featured-in-new-ukrainian-postage-stamp-6qEW3wsyWdSsEP7CeVWq |access-date=15 April 2022 |newspaper=WSJ |language=en}}</ref>
In January 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump was filmed raising his middle finger and mouthing "fuck you" toward a heckler who had shouted "pedophile protector" during a visit to the [[Ford River Rouge complex]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan]]. A White House spokesperson described the response as appropriate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Waldenburg |first1=Samantha |title=Trump appears to flip someone off at a Ford plant. The White House says it’s ‘appropriate’ |url=https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/ford-plant-trump-middle-finger-flip |website=[[CNN]] |date=January 13, 2026 |access-date=January 14, 2026}}</ref>
==In popular culture== The use of the middle finger has become pervasive in popular culture. The band [[Cobra Starship]] released a song called "[[Middle Finger (song)|Middle Finger]]", and released a [[music video]] that showed people giving the finger.<ref name="Cobra Starship's 'Middle Finger' Video Is Bird-Flipping Fun - Music, Celebrity, Artist News" /> Italian artist [[Maurizio Cattelan]] installed a marble statue of a middle finger called ''[[L.O.V.E. (sculpture)|L.O.V.E]]'', measuring {{convert|11|m|abbr=in}} and located directly in front of the [[Milan Stock Exchange]].<ref name="Middle finger sculpture pops up in front of Milan Stock Exchange" /> A now-famous photograph of [[Johnny Cash]] shows him giving the middle finger to a photographer during a 1969 concert at [[San Quentin State Prison]], released as ''[[At San Quentin]]''.<ref name="The Story Behind Johnny Cash's Infamous Middle Finger Photo ::Johnny Cash News" /> However, the photo remained fairly obscure until 1998, when producer [[Rick Rubin]] made it the centerpiece of an ad in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' criticizing country radio for not giving airplay to Cash's [[Grammy Award for Best Country Album|Grammy-winning]] album ''[[Unchained (Johnny Cash album)|Unchained]]''. [[Cameron Diaz]] made the gesture during a photo shoot for ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]''.<ref name="acceptance" /> [[Harold Lloyd]] shot the finger to his own reflection in a [[Coney Island]] funhouse after getting paint on his suit in ''[[Speedy (film)|Speedy]]'', his final silent feature, from 1928.<ref name="Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd" />
Athletes, including [[Stefan Effenberg]], [[Metta World Peace|Ron Artest]], [[Luis Suárez]], [[Virat Kohli]], [[Juan Pablo Montoya]], [[Iván Rodríguez]], [[Danny Graves]], [[Jack McDowell]], [[Natasha Zvereva]], [[Josh Smith]], [[Bryan Cox]], and [[Johnny Manziel]] have been suspended or fined for making the gesture.<ref name="offensive" /><ref name="acceptance" /><ref name="slate" /><ref name="laverty" /><ref name="Through the years with the crudest finger in sports" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Andrew |date=2012-01-05 |title=Kohli fined for finger salute |url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/kohli-fined-for-finger-salute-20120105-1plz0.html |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/johnny-manziel-fined--12k-for-obscene-hand-gesture-on-monday-night-football-164010010.html |url-status=dead |access-date=11 May 2023 |title=Johnny Manziel fined $12K for obscene hand gesture on Monday Night Football|date=August 22, 2014|work=Yahoo Sports|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823031256/https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/johnny-manziel-fined--12k-for-obscene-hand-gesture-on-monday-night-football-164010010.html |archive-date=August 23, 2014 }}</ref> [[José Paniagua]] was released by the [[Chicago White Sox]] after giving the middle finger to an [[umpire (baseball)|umpire]]; he never played in the majors again.<ref name="slate" /> Baseball executive [[Chub Feeney]] once resigned after giving the finger to fans on Fan Appreciation Night.<ref name="slate" /><ref name="wulf" /> [[Bud Adams]], owner of the [[National Football League]]'s [[Tennessee Titans]], was fined US$250,000 for giving both middle fingers to the fans of the [[Buffalo Bills]] during a game.<ref name="sportingnews" /><ref name="Could Bud Adams' middle finger endear NFL owners to fans?" /> Professional wrestler [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] is also famous for flashing one or both middle fingers as part of his gimmick. Hockey star [[Jaromír Jágr]] made the gesture several times following goals in the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.letsgopens.com/scripts/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11601 |title=Young Jaromir Jagr loved flipping the bird|date=Mar 6, 2007|work=LetsGoPens}}</ref>
[[File:Gesto, David Černý(sochař), 21.10.2013, Praha.jpg|thumb|left|A message on the [[Vltava]] river under [[Prague Castle]] from the Czech sculptor [[David Černý]] to president [[Miloš Zeman]] before the [[Czech legislative election, 2013|2013 parliamentary election]] in the Czech Republic]] The [[NME Awards]], an annual music awards show in the UK, uses an extended middle finger design in the trophy handed out to the winners.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Story Of The Night: NME Awards 2016|url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-story-of-the-nme-awards-2016-with-austin-texas-760106|agency=NME Awards|date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Many musical artists, including [[Madonna]], [[Lady Gaga]], [[Eminem]], [[Ariana Grande]], [[Katy Perry]], and [[Adele]] have publicly made the gesture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywire.com/2014/04/wtf-ariana-grande-jennifer-lawrence-middle-finger-drama|title=WTF! Ariana Grande & Jennifer Lawrence Middle Finger Drama! - Hollywire|access-date=May 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926064045/http://www.hollywire.com/2014/04/wtf-ariana-grande-jennifer-lawrence-middle-finger-drama|archive-date=September 26, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="M.I.A. Super Bowl Middle Finger Joins Long List Of Celebrity Flip-Offs" /><ref name="Adele turns tables on TV execs with finger gesture" /> [[Britney Spears]] and Iggy Azalea have given the gesture towards members of the [[paparazzi]], but had to apologize when fans interpreted the gesture as directed at them.<ref name="offensive" /> [[M.I.A. (rapper)|M.I.A.]] gave the gesture during the [[Super Bowl XLVI]] [[List of Super Bowl halftime shows|Halftime Show]].<ref name="offensive" /><ref name="M.I.A. flips middle finger during Super Bowl halftime show" /> The [[National Football League]], [[NBC]], and M.I.A. apologized.<ref name="offensive" /><ref name="M.I.A. Shouldn't have apologized" /> The CD itself for [[Kid Rock]]'s album ''[[Devil Without a Cause]]'' is a picture of his raised middle finger. On the cover of [[Moby Grape]]'s first album, ''[[Moby Grape (album)|Moby Grape]]'', band member [[Don Stevenson (musician)|Don Stevenson]] was caught flipping the bird at the camera. The finger was airbrushed out of subsequent releases of the album.
In automobile driving culture, giving the finger to a fellow motorist communicates displeasure at another person's reckless driving habits and/or their disregard for common courtesy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trumble |first1=Angus |title=The Finger: A Handbook |date=2010 |publisher=Melbourne University Publishing |isbn=9780522857696 |page=192 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WX5LAu5qDx4C&pg=PA192}}</ref>
The finger is included in [[Unicode]] as {{unichar|1F595 |REVERSED HAND WITH MIDDLE FINGER EXTENDED}},<ref>{{cite web |url=http://emojipedia.org/reversed-hand-with-middle-finger-extended/ |title=Middle Finger Emoji |publisher=[[Emojipedia]]}}</ref> part of the [[Miscellaneous Symbols and Pictographs]] block.
The media sometimes refers to the gesture as being mistaken for an indication of "we're number one", typically indicated with a raised [[index finger]].<ref name="wulf" /><ref name="Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Edges Out the Game" /><ref name="Bruins edge Habs early in OT" /> Sometimes, though, the "mistake" is actually an intentional [[euphemism]] meant to indirectly convey the gesture in a medium where a direct description would be inappropriate. For example, [[Don Meredith]] famously noted in a 1972 [[Monday Night Football]] game describing the finger of a dejected Houston Oilers fan: "He thinks they're number one in the nation."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.funtrivia.com/en/Sports/Monday-Night-Football-11054.html|title=Monday Night Football|website=Fun Facts & Information|access-date=July 2, 2015}}</ref> [[Ira Robbins (law professor)|Ira Robbins]], a law professor, believes the finger is no longer an obscene gesture.<ref name="offensive" /> [[Psychologist]] [[David Walsh (psychologist)|David Walsh]], founder of the [[National Institute on Media and the Family]], sees the growing acceptance of the middle finger as a sign of the growth of a "culture of disrespect".<ref name="acceptance" />
[[Google Street View]]'s picture of the area around the [[Wisconsin Governor's Mansion]], taken in 2011 during the tenure of [[Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker]], shows a jogger giving the finger in the direction of the mansion.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/238873971.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815042614/http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/238873971.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-08-15|title=The new Wisconsin salute|last=Snider|first=Christian|newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]|date=January 6, 2014}}</ref>
In 2018, a large wooden sculpture of a hand giving the middle finger, titled ''[[The Finger (Westford, Vermont)|The Finger]]'', was erected in [[Westford, Vermont]] by local Ted Pelkey as a form of protest against the local development review board for denying him a building permit.<ref name="D'Ambrosio">{{Cite news |last=D'Ambrosio |first=Dan |date=December 6, 2018 |title=Westford resident gives town the middle finger—and there's nothing anyone can do about it |url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2018/12/06/westford-vermont-permit-dispute-leads-middle-finger-public-artwork-sculpture/2226186002/ |access-date=February 5, 2025 |work=[[The Burlington Free Press]]}}</ref><ref name="Arnett">{{Cite news |last=Arnett |first=Dugan |date=December 13, 2018 |title=In Vermont, a small-town feud leads to a big middle finger (literally) |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/13/vermont-small-town-feud-leads-big-middle-finger-literally/GDiJeUJu7E6tyk2DeKBRWN/story.html |access-date=June 20, 2025 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref> While [[WCAX]] described the public reaction to ''The Finger'' as "mixed",<ref name="Viglienzoni">{{Cite news |last=Viglienzoni |first=Cat |date=December 3, 2018 |title=Massive middle finger stirs controversy in Westford |url=https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Massive-middle-finger-stirs-controversy-in-Westford-501821241.html |access-date=February 5, 2025 |work=[[WCAX]]}}</ref> ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' reported Westfield residents being mostly amused by the sculpture and several proposing capitalizing on its popularity.<ref name="Arnett2">{{Cite news |last=Arnett |first=Dugan |date=December 13, 2018 |title=In Vermont, a small-town feud leads to a big middle finger (literally) |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/13/vermont-small-town-feud-leads-big-middle-finger-literally/GDiJeUJu7E6tyk2DeKBRWN/story.html |access-date=June 20, 2025 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref> Pelkey initially said he would retire ''The Finger'' to the garage or his living room<ref name="Arnett3">{{Cite news |last=Arnett |first=Dugan |date=December 13, 2018 |title=In Vermont, a small-town feud leads to a big middle finger (literally) |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/12/13/vermont-small-town-feud-leads-big-middle-finger-literally/GDiJeUJu7E6tyk2DeKBRWN/story.html |access-date=June 20, 2025 |work=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref> and replace it with a [[peace sign]] if he received his permit, but later said the sculpture was "awesome" and "a statement made to our rights as Americans" and he would not remove it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Mike |last2=Quigley |first2=Aidan |date=June 23, 2019 |title=Westford's middle finger there to stay |url=https://vtdigger.org/2019/06/23/westfords-middle-finger-there-to-stay/ |access-date=June 21, 2025 |work=[[VTDigger]]}}</ref>
==Similar gestures== [[File:The v finger signs.png|thumb|The hand gesture on the left is the normal "victory" symbol. The gesture on the right is the rude gesture.]]
In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], the [[V sign#As an insult|V sign]], "two-fingered salute" or "the fingers", when given with back of the hand towards the recipient, serves a similar purpose. According to a [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] synopsis of the play ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'', a "two-fingered salute" appeared in the [[Macclesfield Psalter]] of {{circa|1330}} (in the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]], Cambridge), "being made by a glove in the psalter's marginalia". [[George H. W. Bush]], former [[President of the United States]], accidentally made the gesture while on a diplomatic trip to Australia.<ref name="google7" />
In countries where Spanish, Portuguese or French are spoken, and especially in [[Spain]], [[Portugal]], [[Brazil]] and [[France]], the gesture involving raising a fist and slapping the biceps on the same arm as the fist used, sometimes called the ''[[bras d'honneur]]'' (French), ''corte de mangas'' (Spanish), ''manguito'' (Portugal), ''dar uma banana'' (Brazil), or Iberian slap, is equivalent to the finger.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
More commonly in Turkish or Slavic regions, the [[fig sign]] (also known as ''nah'' or ''shish'') serves as the equivalent to the finger, meaning "you won't get it" or "in your dreams". The gesture is typically made with the hand and fingers curled and the thumb thrust between the middle and index fingers. This gesture is also used similarly in [[Indonesia]], [[Turkey]] and [[China]].<ref name="How the internet is changing language" />
In [[Japanese Sign Language]], this same gesture (with all fingers curled inward except the middle one) means the following: elder brother (hand moving up), younger brother (hand moving down), and siblings in general (one hand moving up, one moving down).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/giving-someone-the-finger-japanese-5679407 |title=Giving someone 'the finger' in Japanese Sign Language doesn't mean what you think it does |last=O'Neill |first=Kara |date=11 May 2015 |website=[[Daily Mirror]] |access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/this-is-not-fuck-you-in-japanese-sign-language-1703555344 |title=This Is Not "Fuck You" in Japanese Sign Language |last=Ashcraft |first=Brian |website=kotaku.com |date=May 11, 2015 |access-date=28 February 2021}}</ref> This comes from a childish name of the middle finger, ''o-nii-san-yubi'' ("big-brother finger"), as opposed to ''o-tō-san-yubi'' ("dad finger", the thumb), ''o-kā-san-yubi'' ("mom finger", the index), ''o-nee-san-yubi'' ("big-sister finger", the ring finger) and ''aka-chan-yubi'' ("baby finger", the pinky).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jp.tadaimajp.com/2015/03/fingers/|title=指は家族！？『手の指』のこと、何と呼びますか？|work=Tadaima Japan 日本 |date=March 17, 2015|access-date=28 February 2021}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The equivalent words for sisters are expressed with the pinky. In the [[Japanese manual syllabary]], the middle finger (with the front of the hand facing forward) stands for the kana [[Se (kana)|せ]] (which, incidentally, is also an [[wikt:兄#Etymology 4|archaic word for "brother"]]).{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}
==See also== {{Portal|Society|Freedom of speech|Language|Linguistics}} <!-- New links in alphabetical order please --> * [[Articulatory gestures]] * [[Dulya]] (Fig sign) * {{anl|List of gestures}} * [[List of sign languages]] * {{anl|Manual communication}} * {{anl|Mooning}} * {{anl|Mountza}} * {{anl|Non verbal communication}} * {{anl|Obscene gesture}} * {{anl|OK gesture}} * {{anl|Shaka sign}} * {{anl|Shocker (gesture)}} * {{anl|Sign of the Horns}} * [[V sign]] or "the fingers" * {{anl|Wanker}}
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<ref name="M.I.A. flips middle finger during Super Bowl halftime show">{{cite web|author=Gardner, Tim|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/02/mia-middle-finger-super-bowl-halftime-show/1|title=M.I.A. flips middle finger during Super Bowl halftime show|date=February 5, 2012|access-date=February 6, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="M.I.A. Shouldn't have apologized">{{cite magazine|author=Frere-Jones, Sasha|magazine=The New Yorker|title=M.I.A. Shouldn't Have Apologized|url=https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/02/im-sorry-mia-apologized.html|date=February 6, 2012|access-date=February 15, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="M.I.A. Super Bowl Middle Finger Joins Long List Of Celebrity Flip-Offs">{{cite web|last=Kaufman |first=Gil |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678599/mia-super-bowl-halftime-middle-finger.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208040450/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1678599/mia-super-bowl-halftime-middle-finger.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2012 |title=M.I.A. Super Bowl Middle Finger Joins Long List Of Celebrity Flip-Offs |publisher=MTV.com |date=February 6, 2012 |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Edges Out the Game">{{cite news|last=Kenneally|first=Tim|title=Madonna's Super Bowl Halftime Show Edges Out the Game|date=February 6, 2012|work=reuters.com|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUS121991955020120206|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419104520/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/06/idUS121991955020120206|archive-date=April 19, 2012|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name="Middle finger salute leads to federal lawsuit">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9PRRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2979,3637599&dq=middle-finger&hl=en|title=Middle finger salute leads to federal lawsuit|first=Paula|last=Reed Ward|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|page=B1|date=March 14, 2006|access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Middle finger sculpture pops up in front of Milan Stock Exchange">{{cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/middle-finger-sculpture-in-milan-sends-strong-message |title=Middle finger sculpture pops up in front of Milan Stock Exchange |newspaper=[[National Post]] |date=September 27, 2010 |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="MOMA - The Collection - Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square">{{cite web|title=MOMA – The Collection – Ai Weiwei. Study of Perspective – Tiananmen Square |url=http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=117098 |publisher=[[Museum of Modern Art]] |access-date=August 1, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="moving finger">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=q1pQAAAAIBAJ&pg=4381,3349445&dq=middle-finger+connecticut&hl=en |title=The Moving Finger Writes Legal History|page=19-A|first=Hugh A.|last=Mulligan|newspaper=[[The Evening Independent]]|date=January 30, 1978|access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Not the classical ideal: Athens and the construction of the other in Greek art">{{cite book |title=Not the classical ideal: Athens and the construction of the other in Greek art |author=Cohen, Beth |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |year=2000 |page=186}}</ref>
<ref name="offensive">{{cite news | first = Daniel | last = Nasaw | title = When did the middle finger become offensive? | date = February 6, 2012 | publisher = BBC | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16916263 | work =[[BBC News Magazine]] | access-date = February 7, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Peace (ll. 546-9)">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0037%3Acard%3D520 |title=Peace (ll. 546-9) |author=Aristophanes |author-link=Aristophanes |language=grc |publisher=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Raising middle finger not obscene, judges say">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Njs0AAAAIBAJ&pg=6142,3382610&dq=middle-finger&hl=en|newspaper=[[The Miami News]]|page=2A|title=Raising middle finger not obscene, judges say|agency=Associated Press|date=December 28, 1976|access-date=July 17, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
<ref name="Roman Homosexuality">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JoS4ffPU1-0C&pg=PA223 |title=Roman Homosexuality |author=Williams, Craig Arthur |year=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-195-38874-9 |page=223}}</ref>
<ref name="sanjose">{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB71FB962BD9D8F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|newspaper=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=June 20, 1996|page=16A|title=Davis' Infamous Finger Salute Has Had a Big Hand in History; Folklorists: Roots Go Back At Least 2,000 Years To Ancient Rome|first=Michael|last=Oricchio|access-date=July 9, 2012|archive-date=May 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511013250/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SJ&s_site=mercurynews&p_multi=SJ&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB71FB962BD9D8F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|url-status=dead}}{{subscription required|date=July 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Satire X.52-3">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0093%3Abook%3D4%3Apoem%3D10 |title=Satire X.52-3 |author=Juvenal |author-link=Juvenal |language=la |publisher=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Satires II.33">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=6E5C16D57764E6A73AA2AE9F39CD2BA6?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0497%3Asatire%3D2 |title=Satires II.33 |author=Persius |author-link=Persius |language=la |publisher=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Satyricon 131">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0027%3Atext%3DSatyricon%3Asection%3D131 |title=Satyricon 131 |author=Petronius |author-link=Petronius |language=la |publisher=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd">{{cite book|last=Bengtson|first=John|title=Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd|year=2011|publisher=Santa Monica Press|isbn=978-1-59580-057-2|pages=228}}</ref>
<ref name="slate">{{cite web|last=Waldman |first=Katy |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2003/10/baseball_and_the_bird.html |title=Baseball and the bird. |work=[[Slate Magazine]] |date=October 13, 2003 |publisher=Slate.com |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="sportingnews">{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |url=http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2009-11-16/nfl-fines-titans-owner-bud-adams-250000-for-obscene-gesture |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203075813/http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2009-11-16/nfl-fines-titans-owner-bud-adams-250000-for-obscene-gesture |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |title=NFL fines Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for obscene gesture |work=Sporting News |publisher=Aol.sportingnews.com |date=November 16, 2009 |access-date=July 11, 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="stoa">{{cite web |url=http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=epsilon,3150 |title=Suda On Line: Ἐσκιμάλισεν |publisher=The Stoa Consortium |access-date=July 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924122454/http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=epsilon,3150 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="stoa5">{{cite web |url=http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=sigma,510 |title=Suda On Line: Σιφνιάζειν |publisher=The Stoa Consortium |access-date=July 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924124537/http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=sigma,510 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> <!-- <ref name="straightdope">Adams, Cecil. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980904.html "What's the origin of 'the finger'?"] ''[[Straight Dope]]'', September 4, 1998</ref> --> <ref name="The Body Legal in Barbarian Law">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2p0ap5rBdBMC&pg=PA150 |title=The Body Legal in Barbarian Law |author=Oliver, Lisi |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-802-09706-4 |page=150}}</ref>
<ref name="The Digit Affair">{{cite web| first = Russell| last = Stu| title = The Digit Affair| url = http://www.usspueblo.org/Prisoners/The_Digit_Affair.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101001012936/http://www.usspueblo.org/Prisoners/The_Digit_Affair.html| publisher = USS Pueblo Veteran's Association| archive-date = October 1, 2010| access-date = September 30, 2010| quote = The finger became an integral part of our anti-propaganda campaign. Any time a camera appeared, so did the fingers.| url-status = dead| df = mdy-all}}</ref>
<ref name="The Latin Sexual Vocabulary">{{cite book |title=The Latin Sexual Vocabulary |author=Adams, J.N. |year=1982 |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |page=39}}</ref>
<ref name="The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aBsR2BEuAq0C&pg=PA213 |title=The Maculate Muse: Obscene Language in Attic Comedy |author=Henderson, Jeffrey |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-300-01786-1 |page=213}}</ref>
<ref name="The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology">{{cite book |title=The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology |edition=3 |author=Malina, Bruce J. |location=Louisville |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]] |year=2001 |page=124 |isbn=9780664222956 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ek3fSY7jRDcC&pg=PA124 }}</ref>
<ref name="The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1RAqEqgfiI0C&pg=PA136 |title=The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece |author1=Calame, Claude |author-link=Claude Calame |author2=Lloyd, Janet |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-691-04341-8 |page=136}}</ref>
<ref name="The Story Behind Johnny Cash's Infamous Middle Finger Photo ::Johnny Cash News">{{cite web|url=http://www.antimusic.com/news/11/march/21The_Story_Behind_Johnny_Cashs_Infamous_Middle_Finger_Photo.shtml |title=The Story Behind Johnny Cash's Infamous Middle Finger Photo ::Johnny Cash News |publisher=antiMusic.com |access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Through the years with the crudest finger in sports">{{cite magazine|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/2007/02/05/bird-watching |url-status=live |title=Bird Watching: Through the years with the crudest finger in sports |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=February 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629101634/https://vault.si.com/vault/2007/02/05/bird-watching |access-date=July 11, 2012|archive-date=June 29, 2022 }}</ref>
<ref name="Top aide put on spot over Trudeau's one-finger gesture">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=br4yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1291,2071232 |title=Top aide put on spot over Trudeau's one-finger gesture|newspaper=The Ottawa Citizen|page=11|date=August 25, 1982|access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="tufts">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dkatapu%2Fgwn |title=A Greek–English Lexicon: κατάπυγον |author1=Liddell, Henry George |author-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] (via [[Perseus Project]]) |year=1940 |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="tufts1">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dkata%2F1 |title=A Greek–English Lexicon: κατά |author1=Liddell, Henry George |author-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] (via [[Perseus Project]]) |year=1940 |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="tufts2">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dpugh%2F |title=A Greek–English Lexicon: πυγή |author1=Liddell, Henry George |author-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] (via [[Perseus Project]]) |year=1940 |access-date=July 11, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="tufts3">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*s111%3Aentry+group%3D39%3Aentry%3Dskimali%2Fzw |title=A Greek–English Lexicon: σκιμαλίζω |author1=Liddell, Henry George |author-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] (via [[Perseus Project]]) |year=1940 |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="tufts4">{{cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aalphabetic+letter%3D*s111%3Aentry+group%3D30%3Aentry%3Dsifnia%2Fzw |title=A Greek–English Lexicon: σιφνιάζω |author1=Liddell, Henry George |author-link=Henry Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] (via [[Perseus Project]]) |year=1940 |access-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="wulf">{{cite news|last=Wulf|first=Steve|title=All My Padres|date=April 5, 1989|magazine=Sports Illustrated|url=http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=For%2015%20years%2C%20the%20San%20Diego%20Padres%20have%20lived%20a%20soap%20-%2004.05.89%20-%20SI%20Vault&urlID=483868051&action=cpt&partnerID=289881&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606065518/http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=For%2015%20years%2C%20the%20San%20Diego%20Padres%20have%20lived%20a%20soap%20-%2004.05.89%20-%20SI%20Vault&urlID=483868051&action=cpt&partnerID=289881&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn|archive-date=June 6, 2013|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> }}
==Further reading== * {{Cite book |last=Fairman |first=Christopher M. |author-link=Christopher M. Fairman |year=2009 |title=[[Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties]] |publisher=Sphinx Publishing |isbn=978-1572487116}} * {{Cite book |last1=Loheed |first1=M. J. |last2=Patterson |first2=Matt |last3=Schmidt |first3=Eddie |year=1998 |title=The Finger: A Comprehensive Guide to Flipping Off |publisher=Acid Test |isbn=1888358122}} * {{Cite journal |last=Robbins |first=Ira P. |year=2008 |title=''Digitus Impudicus'': The Middle Finger and the Law |url=http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=982405 |format=PDF |journal=UC Davis Law Review |volume=41 |ssrn=982405 }} * {{Cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=Melissa |last2=Armstrong |first2=Nancy |year=2003 |title=Field Guide to Gestures: How to Identify and Interpret Virtually Every Gesture Known to Man |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetogest0000arms |publisher=Quirk Books |isbn=1931686203}}
==External links== {{Commons category|The finger (gesture)}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.simplybodylanguage.com/finger-gesture.html|title=Finger Gesture Guide|work=Simply Body Language|publisher=SteNet Services B.V}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/pluckyew.asp|title=Pluck Yew|work=[[Snopes.com]]|date=July 9, 2007}}
{{Gestures}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finger (Gesture)}} [[Category:Fingers]] [[Category:Hand gestures]] [[Category:Metaphors referring to body parts]] [[Category:Metaphors referring to birds]] [[Category:Obscene gestures]]
[[pt:Dedo médio#Como gesto obsceno]]