until
1965, and only in the last century have such colorful variants
as “mother fucker,” “fuck-all,” and
“fuck up” appeared.
There is literary
evidence the middle finger was used as an obscene gesture
as far back as Roman times. Back then it was referred to as
the digitus infamis or the digitus impudicus (infamous or
indecent finger), not least of which because it was often
a stand-in for the phallus.
The phrase “flying fuck” is from circa 1800 and
originally referred to having sex on horseback.
Sources: Online Etymology
Dictionary, The
Straight Dope, Urban Legends
Reference Pages, Wikipedia.
Map of Agincourt, 1415
English forces in red (archers shown as triangles)
French forces in blue (mounted forces labeled ‘b’)
NEAT-O
A
BRIEF HISTORY OF MARDI GRAS
Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday”) is the
final day of Carnival, a four to nine week period of celebration
and merrymaking beginning on Epiphany (January 6). It is the
last day before the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of
fasting and temperance observed by Christians. Mardi Gras
is so named because it marks the last day that certain items—such
as butter, eggs, and meat—can be eaten before the fasting
season. In the British Isles, this day is known as Shrove
Tuesday (from the verb shrive, meaning
“to impose penance,” from the fact that priests
would often hear confessions on this day to prepare people
for Lent) or Pancake Day (from the fact that thin pancakes
are served on this day to use up eggs and butter, items that
cannot be eaten during Lent).
To understand Mardi
Gras, it is first necessary to understand Carnival, the larger
celebration it concludes. Carnival is celebrated
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between Twelfth Night (the eve of January
5) and Mardi Gras, whose occurrence is determined by the date
of Easter, and consequently may fall anywhere between February
3 and March 9.
During my research,
I found two theories on how Carnival evolved. The first is
that it was an extension of various Greco-Roman ceremonies,
chiefly Lupercalia, a festival in
mid-February dedicated to Faunus, Roman god of fertility (see
Quotidian
vol. 1 no. 5 for Lupercalia’s connection
to Valentine’s Day). During the festival, priests called
luperci sacrificed a goat, consumed
its flesh, and cut its hide into strips, or februa.
The februa were used by the priests to lash those who sought
fertility or purification. Over time, the festival grew into
an orgy of lust and pain; there were no longer enough priests
to perform the rites, so laypeople took it upon themselves
to whip each other with abandon with the sacrificial februa
until they felt purified.
In 204 B.C., the
Romans began to worship the goddess Cybele, a sort of Mother
Earth in godlike form. Cybele’s priestesses would lead
her followers in two days of wanton debauchery, music, and
dancing, and conclude with the Day of Blood. On this aptly
titled day, Cybele’s most devoted male followers ritually
castrated themselves and placed their severed organs on an
altar as offerings.
Suffice it to say
there is compelling evidence that such irreverent celebrations
were the precursor to the modern immorality of many Carnival
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