Screwed up phrases people use

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by trularin

While writing I discovered the origins of two interesting things I used.

First, SH!T is an acronym from the sides of crates. On ships that carried supplies to colonies, the top covers were leaky and in some cased the crates got wet.

Those crates that carried fertilizer began to ferment and emitted methane gas. Accounts of the night watch blowing the ship up while making his rounds forced those crates with fertilizer to be shipped closed to the top hatches. Hence the letters Store High In Transit.

The other was the expression using the hand of "giving the bird" or "giving the finger".

The earliest accounts were from the English to the French. It seems the French did two things that were considered "very bad". Take this as other than death.

They removed the crest ring of their opponent which, at the time, was very bad. Many young men of nobility went to war under the idea of glory ( you may add any number of other reasons you want here ). It was typical to give the son a ring with the family crest on it should he fall in battle. The French cut off the finger with the ring.

And, the French hated the English Long bowmen, very deadly. so, to ruin their aim, they would remove the finger used for alignment.

Both has been document as the reason why flipping some the bird was considered bad.

I personally believe the ring finger theory.

I received a chain email a while ago (you know you should believe everything you read from the internet), that was along the same lines of the English long bowmen versus the French, but it had another piece of information that said the English would not only flip the bird but call out "pluck you" at the same time. Which apparently means that using the term "f*** you" is completely wrong when flipping the bird. After all when you are angry at someone, wouldn't you rather threaten that them you want to shoot them with your long bow rather than yelling at them about sex?