The year was 1415, the scene was the Battle of Agincourt, between the French and the English.
The French, predicting a victory due to overwhelming numbers, bragged that they would cut off the middle finger of any English soldier they captured. Thus it would be extremely difficult for those finger-less men to draw the infamous English longbows in future battles.
The longbow was made from the English yew tree and drawing the weapon became known as "plucking yew."
In a major upset the English defeated the French and the archers mocked them, waving their middle fingers at the enemy, shouting, "See, we can still pluck yew! Pluck yew!"
Over the years "pluck yew" became "f**k you" because it is easier to pronounce, and because chicken farmers objected to the former terminology being given a sexual connotation.
(Then what does ‘plucky’ mean? I wonder!)
The French, predicting a victory due to overwhelming numbers, bragged that they would cut off the middle finger of any English soldier they captured. Thus it would be extremely difficult for those finger-less men to draw the infamous English longbows in future battles.
The longbow was made from the English yew tree and drawing the weapon became known as "plucking yew."
In a major upset the English defeated the French and the archers mocked them, waving their middle fingers at the enemy, shouting, "See, we can still pluck yew! Pluck yew!"
Over the years "pluck yew" became "f**k you" because it is easier to pronounce, and because chicken farmers objected to the former terminology being given a sexual connotation.
(Then what does ‘plucky’ mean? I wonder!)
No comments:
Post a Comment