The comments on this post are getting kind of surreal, and are starting to remind me of this Flight of the Conchords clip:
So, although I can't believe I am having to explain this, this is how to give someone the fingers, NZ style:
(It's rude, kids: don't try this at home.)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
This post goes out to JustMe and all other baffled Americans
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12 Comments:
Here that finger gesture either means "two" or "peace" (as in 'make love, not war' not 'silence'). To tell someone off, we only use the middle finger.
I'd love to see you give the NZ finger here.... they wouldn't know they'd been insulted.
That's so weird, eh? I've never really thought about it before, but now that I do, Aussies generally use only the middle finger to be insulting (ehe, maybe they didn't know how to draw their bows???) whereas all the kiwi's I know use two. (which generally amuses us because the Aussies just smile and nod and think they're being all peaceful instead of really mad... which I guess is a way to keep the peace... I'll stop now...)
I commented on the UK versions of these on the last post...
By the way Styleygeek I'm glad that I opened this message at home not in the computer lab - getting a large picture of the fingers in a public place would have been embarrassing!
I dimly recall learning about the two fingers gesture from my mother, when I was about 5. I saw her do it to a driver who nearly ran us over, and asked what it meant. Since my mother dislikes intellectual mollycoddling and obfuscation of all kinds, she tends to be unusually honest about these sorts of things with small children, and explained that it meant 'fuck off'. Although she declined to elaborate any further upon what this actually denoted.
The practice subsequently spread very quickly in my primary school playground, before being brutally repressed by the authorities.
Seriously? That's a rude gesture?
It just looks like a V.
At any rate, I usually deliberately misinterpret rude gestures (most often given to me when I'm driving), and respond by smiling and waving.
That drives people crazy. It's the best kind of revenge.
I was just thinking of that scene from FotC during that discussion! Hooray!
ItPF, "peace" is with the hand facing the other way around.
I would've called the gesture the ups; I've never heard it referred to as the fingers.
Miss M, I'm pretty sure the Australians know what it means, but using two fingers seemed to go out of fashion when I was in primary school, because one seemed far ruder.
Brilliant clip, they are so funny!
Wikipedia has langthy entires for both these gestures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_%28gesture%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign
We do "two" and "peace with our hand facing the other way (i.e. palm towards the other person).
Oops, should have read Lucy's comment first. Sorry!
And I have NEVER heard of "the ups".
Grace, I just looked at the Wikipedia references, and this line made me laugh out loud:
"United States president George H. W. Bush, attempting to give the "peace sign", once gave the insulting V sign to onlookers while touring Australia, unaware of what it meant to Australians."
thank you for the clarification! once i saw your photo of a peace sign, er birds, er, i mean fingers, i remembered about that bush story, how could i have forgotten?! i can now say i am no longer baffled.
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