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[[File:statham-lovin refit 579.png|link=Crank|frame|Chelios finally gets to say, "Fuck you, too." [[Man On Fire|While on fire]].]]
'''Flipping the Bird''', or 'the Finger' as it is also known, is the act of raising one's middle finger upwards while keeping the rest of the fingers bent at the first joint or curled tight into the palm of the hand. For added expression, the participant should extend the arm to its full length and raise slightly above the shoulder line, perform this movement in a one sharp movement to add complete indignation to the gesture. For added effect, one can [[Dual Wield]] the gesture in what is sometimes called the "Double Deuce."
To flip someone off is an [[Take That|insult]] in most of the Western World, and earliest references of it [[Older Than Feudalism|go all the way to Ancient Roman]] writings, where it is referred to as ''digitus impudicus'' (the "impudent digit"). Often directed to those in authority in an act of defiance, ''Flipping The Bird'' is an easy way to get across complicated emotions in one motion. Also used occasionally by people who are being photographed against their will, and want to ensure the resulting image won't be publishable. Frequently used toward another driver while at the wheel.
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{{examples}}
* [http://images.nextnewnetworks.com/839.jpg Bentley: Chairman]{{Dead link}} ad. Nuff said.{{context}}<!-- MOD: Nuff needs to say more. -->▼
▲* [http://images.nextnewnetworks.com/839.jpg Bentley: Chairman]{{Dead link}} ad. Nuff said.
* In an ad for Wild Turkey Kentucky Bourbon, a group of guys are contemplating whether the woman at the end of the bar likes one of them, when suddenly she flips them off. Apparently not, right? Turns out, in this bar, the finger means "order that person a Wild Turkey on the rocks." As reflected in the tagline, [[Incredibly Lame Pun|"Give 'em the bird."]]
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|Jolyne Kujo]] can do this [http://www.mangarush.com/files/mangas/jojo39s-bizarre-adventure-stone-ocean/67/6.jpg in several]{{Dead link}} [http://www.mangarush.com/files/mangas/jojo39s-bizarre-adventure-stone-ocean/67/7.jpg different languages.]{{Dead link}}
* Rock does [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY4lxe2gMqE this] quite memorably in the second episode of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', flipping off the Extra Order mercs as he pulls his first [[Black Lagoon/Awesome|Crowning Moment of Awesome]] by having the title ship launched off a ramp and the torpedoes launched to wipe out an attack chopper that was after them.
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*** [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|That's his ring finger.]]
** There's also a chapter title page where half of the cast flips off Cell.
* In ''[[Dai no Daibouken
* In ''[[Bleach]]'' {{spoiler|Isshin}} simultaneously flips {{spoiler|Aizen}} the bird and ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100505205553/http://mangastream.com/read/bleach/398-93/18 knocks him several city blocks back]'' (it's unknown if ''some'' sort of hand gesture was [[Full-Contact Magic|necessary]] or if it was entirely because he felt like it).
** The manga features Grimmjow grinning madly while flipping off [http://www.mangareader.net/94-653-4/bleach/chapter-199.html the reader].
* In chapter 7 of ''[[Sensual Phrase]]'' Sakuya does this to spite {{spoiler|his half brother}} Ralph, even saying "FUCK YOU!"
* Shows up in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', where [[Weasel Mascot|Chamo]] [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v06/c046/11.html gives Fate the finger.] Possibly. His super-deformed style makes it tough to tell, but that gesture probably fits the situation best.
* Becky from ''[[Pani Poni Dash!
* The [[Gunsmith Cats]] salute an annoying ATF agent this way as he leaves. Of course, as average residents of [[The Windy City]], it's reasonable.
*
* Early in ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'', when Excel is in prison, another prisoner asks if there's anyone she likes. She attempts to give a shy thumbs-up of "yeah", but accidentally flips her new friend off on the first attempt.
* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' Kuwabara begins bashing Yusuke in comparison to his spirit sword vs Yusuke's spirit gun saying the gun is weaker. Yusuke responds with "That depends on which finger I'm using" while flipping Kuwabara off clearly. This was, of course, edited out of the [[Toonami]] block version.
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'''Orito:''' (Gives the finger) Say your prayers! }}
== [[
* [[Russell Peters|"Ryan, go clean your room!"]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI "FUCK YOU BITCH!"]▼
* [[Stage Magician|The Amazing]] [[Subverted Trope|Johnathan]] during one skit covered his hand with a kerchief and asked if a lady in the front row like birds. When she answered yes, he whipped away and flipped her the bird. He did then proceed to recover his hand and make a bird appear... [[Crosses the Line Twice|which he then promptly pummeled into a fistful of feathers]].▼
* One [[Peter Kay]] routine discussed the art of stealthily flipping someone off by pretending to scratch your face.▼
▲== [[Comics]] ==
* [[John Constantine]] (who used to be pictured above) knows the [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?|appropriate moment]].
* Lula from the German comic ''[[Lula und Yankee]]'' does that at least once.
* Guy Gardner flips off Mr. Terrific and [[Martian Manhunter]] as his Power Ring flies to him and lands on his middle finger in [[Green Lantern]]: Rebirth. [[Word of God]] confirms it was intentional, as they were surprised that panel got approved.
== [[Fan
* For comedic effect: [http://bikerbloke.deviantart.com/art/Schwing2-193510446 here.]
* Among other instances (both American and UK versions) in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', Ringo does this after he puts Sarekyl in a tree.
* In ''[[In The Dark]]'', [[Backstreet Boys| A.J. McLean]] does this to [[Spice Girls| Melanie Chisholm]] for a laugh after checking on her [[Tap on the Head|injuries]]. Chisholm wasn't amused as even with her injuries and being from England, she knew the meaning.
* [[Spice Girls]] [[Alternate Universe|AU]] fic, ''[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828973 Just Taken]'', Melanie's answers to the driver who ran her over, while [[Vehicular Sabotage|slasing one of the tires]] in order to escape.
== [[Film]] ==
* One of the earliest examples of this in a mainstream film would be ''The Miracle Woman'', a Barbara Stanwyck drama made in 1931 (in other words,
** An even earlier example comes in [[Harold Lloyd]]'s silent 1928 comedy ''Speedy'', which has a scene where Lloyd [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4w77jd1KEQ does this to his
* In a deleted scene in ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', Max Patel cheerfully flips the bird at Parker Selfridge, just before {{spoiler|ripping through the command center's windows with a titanic slash cutter, letting in the rogue avatar team.}}
* In ''[[Highlander II the Quickening]]'', a random bar patron flips Connor off right before bashing him over the head with a bottle.
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* In the movie ''My Science Project'', one guy flips off an asshat honking at him from behind... [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZbqj6mdiQ with a light-up one!]
* In ''Problem Child 2'', Junior Healey is driving his dad home, and an unseen driver cuts him off. The kid knows how to make use of "the highway salute".
* In ''[[Ace Ventura]]: Pet Detective'', Ace has a football player
* In ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien S]]'':
{{quote|'''Hudson:''' Man, this floor is freezing!
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* Films 2 and 3 of the ''[[Austin Powers]]'' trilogy had examples of this, both of which involved Mini-Me.
* One of the aliens in ''[[Bad Taste]]'' does this on the ''movie poster''. ([[Peter Jackson]], you mad genius you.)
* ''[[Blade Trinity]]'' shows a few suit-clad vampires going into a tomb in the desert. Before going in, one of them flips the bird at the sun. 'Cause, [[Our Vampires Are Different|y' know, it's not able to kill him for a change]].
* The first ''[[Bring It On]]'' film had two examples of this. The first one was when a Toros cheerleader flipped off her ex-boyfriend after they lost a game. The second had the main character's little brother doing it after being taunted for sneaking into the girl's locker room.
** Missy does a one after a Toros cheerleader mockingly points out that tattoos aren't allowed. She rubs off the "tattoo" with her middle finger.
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{{quote|'''Rebecca:''' There is a great, big, humongous honking booger in your left nostril... I suggest you use ''this finger'' to get it out!}}
* The younger sister of the heroine in ''[[Final Destination]] 3'' flashes the double-deuce when her big sister takes her picture at the amusement park.
* In ''[[Groundhog Day]]'', in at least one loop, Phil does a countdown to filming on his fingers, the middle finger
* One character does this in ''[[Liar Liar]]''.
{{quote|'''Fletcher''': (desperate to keep his secretary around) I'll give you the raise!
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* ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'' features Agent J ([[Will Smith]]) doing a similar obfuscated-flip, as Agent K ([[Tommy Lee Jones]]) responds to the younger agent's questions about advanced [[The Men in Black|Men in Black]] privileges with "When you grow up." J replies with "Oh...okay", while scratching his head with his middle finger.
* The film adaptation of ''[[Mr. Bean]]'', the biker gave the bird to Bean while taking a picture of him and giving him a thumbs up from the car. Unaware of the gesture, Mr. Bean gives everyone the bird he passes by.
* The first movie of ''[[The Naked Gun]]'' series has a memorable scene where a driver instructor (played by [[Classically-Trained Extra|John Houseman]])
* In one of the ''[[Police Academy]]'' movies, a snarky guy flips off a mounted police officer twice, once vertically and again horizontally (i.e. for the officer and the horse he rode in on).
* ''[[Road Trip]]'' had a blind girl giving Seann William Scott's character the bird after he feeds her seeing-eye dog a Slim Jim.
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* ''[[Undercover Brother]]''. The title character and Sistah Girl are being chased by two security guards in golf carts. The guards try to warn some senior citizens (also in golf carts) to clear out of the way, and one elderly woman gives them The Finger.
* [[Roddy Piper]] does this in ''[[They Live!]]'' as he {{spoiler|lies dying, having exposed the true, unpleasant form of the [[Not Quite Human|aliens]] .}}
* ''[[2012|Two Thousand Twelve]]''. Tamara does this to her {{spoiler|now
* In ''[[X-Men 1]]'', Wolverine flips Cyclops off with one of his claws during the climax.
** He also does it to Gambit in ''[[X Men Origins: Wolverine|X Men Origins Wolverine]]''.
** In ''[[X2: X-
* Sally Field flips off a motorcycle cop in ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' as she and Burt Reynolds come to Jerry Reed's rescue.
* In ''[[Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'', drummers seem to like this gesture.
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* In ''[[Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome]]'' Ironbar flashes one of these as he dies under the wreckage of his crashed car.
* The movie adaptation of ''[[Dragnet]]'' had an interrogated suspect flip off Friday and his partner, Pep Streebeck. Streebeck leaves to get coffee, Friday then teaches the thug a lesson in manners.
* [[Hot Fuzz|Nicholas Angel]] does the British variation, accompanied by
* In ''[[Star Trek IV: The
* Bialystock and Bloom in the latest ''[[The Producers]]'' respond this way while taking the Siegfried Oath (while Franz isn't looking, of course).
* In ''[[Inception]]'', Yusuf does this to a projection when he drives off the bridge to set off the kick in Fischer's first dream layer.
* The South Korean [[King Kong]] rip-off, ''A.P.E.'' features a giant monkey giving the finger to an exploding helicopter. Seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH-fNG9GH5E here].
** And speaking of apes, in the movie ''[[Cannonball Run]] II'', an orangutan chauffeur gives an old lady one when she waves to him!
* Unintentionally in ''[[Rat Race]]'', when Randy burns his finger in the cigarette lighter of Hitler's car and holds it up while next to a biker. His wife [[Stop Helping Me!|tries to explain while wagging hers]]. He next tries explaining the situation to [[World War II]] veterans.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLy8BuGsTg4\]
* The poster for ''[[Trainspotting]]'' includes Begbie giving the V-sign to the viewer.
* In ''[[Ali G Indahouse]]'', Ali G thinks he's being rebellious by giving the V-sign to a cop car just below the rim of his car window, so it's completely hidden.
* In ''[[The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension]]'', John Bigbooté flips off Dr
* The 1980 comedy ''Used Cars'' has a scene where a student driver is instructed to do this by her teacher (played by the distinguished John Houseman, of ''The Paper Chase'') when another driver cuts them off.
* The garden gnome in ''[[Project X]]'' has its middle finger raised.
* In ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy]]'', Peter Quill gives this to a couple of Nova Corps members. Despite Disney having the rights to the film, it went uncensored in the films, even as the OBSCENE GESTURE DETECTED alert goes off.
** Quill does it again in ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]]'', just before using one of Doctor Strange's portals to escape... ''right at Thanos''.
* ''[[Alien vs. Ninja]]'': Mika had a message for
* During the chase in ''[[6 Underground]]'', Six, who was driving, almost collides with a group of nuns during a car chase. Six hopes they would forgive him for doing that. One of the nuns had this as a response.
* ''[[Deadpool (film)|Deadpool]]'', the titular character cuts off his wrist to escape from Colossus's manacle. Since he can simply regrow a hand, Deadpool likely didn't mind doing this. Bonus, his severed hand leaves this for Colossus.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The original novella for ''[[The Running Man (novel)|The Running Man]]'' by [[Stephen King|Richard Bachman]] ends with the hero presenting the double-deuce to his enemy while performing a suicide attack via jumbo jet, aimed at his enemy's skyscraper headquarters. He had earlier flipped off the camera in an image used to present him to the viewing audience.
* Performed by a ''cleaning robot'' in ''The California Voodoo Game'', in which the machine has been disguised as a cyborg octopus (long story) and sent to hinder S.J. Waters' crawl through a ventilation duct. The machine has no voice synthesizer, so the Game Master uses this robot's hologram-illusion tentacles to express its defiance after S.J. cripples it in hand-to-pincer combat.
* It's subtle, but a fantastic version appears in [[Matt Stover
{{quote|"I can read your mind," he said darkly. "You only have three ideas, and all of them are wrong."
"Huh?"
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* In ''[[Halo (series)|Halo]]: Ghosts Of Onyx'' Kelly flips off a Sentinel drone to distract it while her team sets up an attack.
* The V-sign is obliquely referred to in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', where it is always referred to as an "obscene hand gesture" so as not to give the children any ideas.
** The most direct reference to it being the V-sign is in ''[[
* In ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', Arya lists a number of things she's learned in Braavos, including obscene gestures such as "the fig."
* In ''[[Stephanie Plum|Plum Spooky]]'', Stephanie comments "getting and giving the finger is a way of life in Jersey". She does, however, find it a bit odd to be getting this gesture from a pet monkey she's babysitting.
* Several times in the ''[[Maximum Ride]]'' books, including once when it's used as an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] (and lampshaded as such by Max herself).
* In ''The Boy Who Lost His Face'' by Louis Sachar, David, in the middle of helping a group of friends pull a prank on an elderly woman reputed to be a witch, flips her the bird. This results in the woman pronouncing a "curse" on David.
* In [[Ken Kesey]]'s ''Sometimes a Great Notion'', the protagonist displays his late father's amputated arm from a pole atop his house, with all the fingers save the middle one tied down, as a gesture of defiance against the union loggers with whom he's feuding.
* In ''[[
===
* The notorious [http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/mad/166-3.jpg finger cover] of ''[[Mad]]'', which many news stands refused to display.▼
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* Referenced in ''[[MythBusters]]''. While testing the bouncing bullet myth (about a bullet that ricocheted in such a way that it killed the shooter), Adam and Jamie used a cardboard cutout of Jamie to represent the gunman/victim. One of the bullets they fired struck cutout!Jamie, in the words of the narrator, on the finger he "occasionally uses to advise fellow motorists".
* There were several occasions on ''[[Dead Like Me]]'' where characters clearly gave someone else the finger, thanks to the fact that the show was aired on Showtime.
* One episode of ''[[Flight of the Conchords]]'' (possibly called "Racist", since it was the one about the racist shopkeeper) featured the band's American friend teaching them how to "flip the bird".
* Jewel Staite and Nathan Fillion of ''[[Firefly]]'' engaged in an ongoing competition of finding the most creative ways to [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603151731/http://shades-of-moonlight.com/birdflip/index.php flip each other the bird].
* One ''[[Seinfeld]]'' episode had George thinking that one of the waitresses at Monk's was giving him the finger as she handed him the bill.
* ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]'':
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{{quote|'''Nancy:''' We also voted that the restaurant's official bird should be the toucan.
'''Roseanne:''' Would you like to see the bird I voted for? ''(she makes a gesture behind her hand that implies flipping the middle finger)'' }}
** The episode
** Roseanne also does this to a sexist truck driver in
* In ''[[Porridge]]'' Fletcher is reading off a list of the things he's learned from his time inside, counting them on fingers as he goes. He forgets to add the third finger until Mackay notices it.
{{quote|'''Fletch:''' All right. I'll just tell him three things. One - bide your time. Two - keep your nose clean. And three - don't let the bastards grind you down. }}
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** Lister and the Cat treat Arnold to one in 'Better than Life', and Kryten (trying to figure out what he is after thinking he was in a [[Lotus Eater Machine]] while actually being in one) speculates that he'd be the [[Badass Cop]] who'd give one to [[Da Chief]].
* In ''[[Friends]]'' Ross made an alternative gesture for the finger (banging his fists together) as a child so he could do it in front of his parents.
* Ben Stein would get away with this on his game show ''[[Win Ben Stein's
* As mentioned above, Spike in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' used the two-finger variant as an eloquent response to Xander's accusatory gesturing when they were struck speechless.
** And next season, [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|that shot made it into the opening credits sequence.]]
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* In the ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' episode "Cold Comfort", Garcia is reading horoscopes and Prentiss declares that they are bullshit. Garcia mentions in the horoscope about bout "eliminating this cold front with a simple but affectionate gesture" and Prentiss replies with "I have a simple gesture" and flips them off (the camera angle changes for censorship purposes). The whole video can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpxUOhHQK_w here].
* In one episode of ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', a utility robot gives Rimmer the V-sign when Rimmer, playing chess with same, reveals that he stalling until the utility robot has to go back on duty, meaning Rimmer wins by default.
* ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' had a "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" sketch where Mr. Robinson put on [https://web.archive.org/web/20120420003818/http://www.hulu.com/watch/4189/saturday-night-live-mr-robinsons-neighborhood a puppet show], with finger puppets of poor black people imploring President Reagan to improve the economy. In one of the last scenes of this show, the puppet on Mr. Robinson's middle finger stood alone, and exclaimed, "Mr. President, I think I speak for all black people!"
* In [[Two and A Half Men]], after coming home from the hospital, Alan tries to flip off Charlie after he makes a "[[I Told You So]]" comment, but can't since his hand in a cast.
{{quote|'''Charlie:''' Aww... you wanna flip me the bird, but the the poor little fellow can't fly.}}
* In [[Stargate SG-1]] Jack O'Neill told someone that his name was "spelled with two Ls!" while holding up three fingers.
* The "body parts" episode of ''[[You Can't Do That on Television]]'' had a ''lot'' of jokes about "giving the finger". Fortunately, that is something they [[Ironic Echo| really ''couldn't'' do on television.]]
* On ''[[Wednesday]]'', Thing has done this more than once to folks he doesn't like - being a living, disembondied hand, it's pretty much the only way he ''can'' insult someone.
▲* The notorious [http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/mad/166-3.jpg finger cover] of ''[[Mad]]'', which many news stands refused to display.
== [[Music]] ==
* In the [["Weird Al"
** He does it himself in the video for "Amish Paradise" (and, like in "White & Nerdy," is also blurred out for censorship reasons).
* Kevin Rudolf's "Let It Rock":
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{{quote|So would the real shady please stand up
and put one of those fingers on each hand up... }}
* "Ve Heil! Heil! Right in "Der Fuehrer's Face" (the palm was facing outwards in the footage of [[Spike Jones]] playing that song, but the gesture was just as rude)
* "The One in the Middle" by [[Country Music]] singer Sarah Johns:
{{quote|''I would've given you the finger on my left hand
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== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* As ''[[Dilbert]]'' author Scott Adams has noted, you can [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|get away with a lot of things in comics]] if you do them off-camera, such as [http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1997-02-11/ Alice's none-too-subtle pun] concerning how many digits she expected her bonus to be as opposed to what she actually got:
{{quote|'''Dilbert:''' How many digits?
'''Alice:''' I used one on each hand. }}
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== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* If you really look had enough, there's an actually footage from following the jailhouse match with Big Boss Man and The Mountie. The latter does this after being demanded for fingerprints, by saying "You can't do this to me! You want the finger? There's the finger!". To top it off, this was in 1991.
* [[Steve Austin]]'s "Stone Cold Salute" in the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]].
* [[Ric Flair]] flipped off [[Triple H]] at ''Survivor Series 2005''.
* [[Kevin Nash|Diesel]] after costing [[The Undertaker]] the title at [[Royal Rumble]] 1996, which was notably before the [[Attitude Era]].
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* This is pretty much what [[Randy Orton]] opted to toward Seth Rollins in the episode March 9, 2015, much to the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvzXr22rSpQ delight of fans].
== [[
▲* [[Russell Peters|"Ryan, go clean your room!"]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI "FUCK YOU BITCH!"]
* When captured by North Korea, the crew of the ship USS Pueblo were forced to appear in staged propaganda photos. Each man showed the finger in the photos. When pressed, they claimed it was a Hawaiian Good Luck sign. Unfortunately, North Korea was able to read the foreign press and soon discovered the truth.▼
▲* [[Stage Magician|The Amazing]] [[Subverted Trope|Johnathan]] during one skit covered his hand with a kerchief and asked if a lady in the front row like birds. When she answered yes, he whipped away and flipped her the bird. He did then proceed to recover his hand and make a bird appear... [[Crosses the Line Twice|which he then promptly pummeled into a fistful of feathers]].
* Some people claim [[Barack Obama]] did this to [[Hillary Clinton]] during the primaries in 2008. Others maintain that he was just scratching his nose with his middle finger.▼
*
▲* One [[Peter Kay]] routine discussed the art of stealthily flipping someone off by pretending to scratch your face.
* An equivalent gesture (called in French the ''bras d'honneur'' or "[[Ironic Name|Arm of Honor]]") is bending your right elbow, clenching your right fist and putting your left hand on your right arm's side opposing that of the elbow. The western variant was also imported into Russia from the West after [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]]. One can combine the arm with the Finger for emphasis.▼
** Although it means the number 2 in American Sign Language, in many other English speaking countries like England… The “V” sign that has the palm facing the user is the equivalent of Flipping the Bird.▼
* On WABC-TV in New York, anchor [[Deadpan Snarker|Roger Grimsby]] introduced a live broadcast from reporter Mara Wolinsky. Mara had been getting trouble from the cameraman and flipped him off just as the live broadcast started. The camera quickly cut back to Grimsby, who said, "Apparently, Mara knows who's number one in New York."▼
* There was a minor scandal during the last election in Sweden, when the chairman of the Left Party flipped off a leading Conservative during a debate. Luckily, it was not televised. Unluckily, someone had a cellphone camera.▼
* The most epic bird-flippery so far happened when [http://www.metro.co.uk/news/802617-starlings-give-twitchers-the-bird a flock of birds flipped the bird]... 'en masse' [[Synchronized Swarming|as a flock]].▼
* Actress Pauley Perrette, best known for her role as Abby Sciuto on ''[[NCIS]]'', subverts this by having a [["Have a Nice Day" Smile]] tattoo [http://peekabootattoos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Pauley-Perrette-Tattoos-2.jpg on the middle finger of her right hand].▼
* During the final week of testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial, a 28-year-old spectator [[What an Idiot!|decided to ignore the strict court orders against overt gestures or expressions]], and flipped off prosecutor Jeff Ashton. Judge Belvin Perry found him in contempt and sentenced him to six days in county jail and a total fine of just over six hundred dollars.▼
* Davao City, Philippines vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte flashed the finger and cussed at critics of his daughter Sara (who was the mayor) following her widely-publicized punching of a trial court sheriff. Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/04/11/duterte-flashes-dirty-finger-sara<!-- E280%99s-critics -->▼
* One Utah homeowner was run through hell by his neighbors for building 18" above the maximum roof height. In response, he put some "abstract art" of "cacti" on the side of his house, in their direction. [http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp You be the judge.]▼
* Comedian Jackie Mason nearly saw his career destroyed after being accused of having done this during a 1964 appearance on ''The [[Ed Sullivan Show]]''. Sullivan banned him from appearing on the show again for nearly two years, and only relented after Mason (who vociferously denied having made the gesture, or even being aware of its meaning) initiated a libel suit.▼
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrU5QMLwVIk Penelope Soto], a Florida woman who was busted on a drug charge, became infamous for [[What an Idiot!|doing this to a judge]]; even the female detainee behind Soto was [[Corpsing|seen chuckling]].▼
* [https://youtu.be/e_6UgdS-NEs In This video], Jimmy Kimmel states [[Chris Benoit]] would make a better parent, considering that Benoit had killed his family. A group of women can be seen giving the middle finger... and who can blame them.▼
== Sports ==▼
* Cyclist [[wikipedia:Mark Cavendish|Mark Cavendish]] gave us this post-win [https://web.archive.org/web/20121112043832/http://cdn3.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/2010/04/29/2/par3206415_600.jpg British variant].▼
* A 1972 [[Monday Night Football]] game between the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers had a incident in which [[ABC]] cameras caught several Oilers fans leaving (the putrid Oilers were losing badly to then-AFC powerhouse Oakland). One guy that stayed happened to be caught on camera and, [[Medium Awareness|seemingly aware of it]], raised the middle digit. This incident also provided commentator Don Meredith's "[[Crowning Moment of Funny|We're number 1 in the nation]]" quip.▼
** Similar to this incident, the late newscast for [[San Francisco]] [[ABC]] station KGO following [[Super Bowl]] XIX (won by the hometown 49ers) shows a clip of some Miami Dolphins fans in a hotel to support the defeated Dolphins and one fan on an escalator flips the bird briefly ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TanoA3QTp8Q around the 1:51 mark]).▼
* Has cropped up a couple of times in [[NASCAR]]. One was in Dale Earnhardt's last race, done rather like an irate driver in traffic (which, in a way, he was), on Kurt Busch. Mike Joy interpreted it as Earnhardt telling Busch, "Kurt, you're number one."▼
** Then, in the 7 November 2010 race at Texas, Kyle Busch did this to a NASCAR official who was enforcing a penalty on him. One (lap penalty) plus one (finger raised) equalled three (lap penalty).▼
* [[Formula One]] had a few infamous cases. Heinz-Harald Fretzen did it to Mark Blundell after passing him, and his finger itself was caught on the on-car camera. Johnny Herbert [http://www.atlasf1.com/2000/mal/preview/cunliffe1.jpg did one on the podium].▼
* During Game 4 of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlKggtLYecU Andrew Ference of the Bruins let the Habs fans have it by flipping them off after scoring Boston's second goal in the second period]. Which is a case of [[Take That]] to the Montreal fans. Needless to say, [[Serious Business|the fans got pissed off]] and Ference would later be fined $2500 for the unsportsmanlike gesture.▼
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* "Ah, the middle finger. The most communicative of fingers." - Guybrush Threepwood examines a hand shaped table in ''[[Escape from Monkey Island]]''.
* The "Sweet Goodbye" achievement in ''[[Mirror's
* Your character can do this in ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]]'', and in ''[[Fable II]]'' you can have a sculptor make statues of you doing it.
** If you fail the extended expression in the second one you end up [[Epic Fail|poking yourself in the eye]].
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** And it gets [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2000-08-02 implied later!]
* [http://www.gocomics.com/basicinstructions/2009/11/26/ This] ''[[Basic Instructions]]'' strip.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070817175509/http://www.kenzerco.com/images/periodicals/TTC/phpslideshow.php?directory=.¤tPic=0 This] ''[[Fuzzy Knights]]'' strip (click to page through it), which was posted as a response to the 2005 terrorist bombings on the London Underground and made rather appropriate reference to the origin myth.
* In ''[[Blip]]'', as K is considering what picture to use for her
* Implied in ''[[Freefall]]'' to be [http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff500/fv00475.htm what everyone does] when they "interact" with Sam. That, and [[Genre Savvy|hiding their wallets]].
* Emily is quick to flip off Ash when they first meet in ''[[Misfile]]''.
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* Rhea from ''[[Slightly Damned]]'' lets Buwaro know [http://www.sdamned.com/2006/04/04062006/ she isn't interested in what he has to say].
* Mentioned in ''You Damn Kid!'', in which the narrator thinks it's unfair that Dot's friend Sadako was punished for doing this. Sadako has six fingers on each hand, so the finger she raised technically wasn't her middle finger "and therefore not a bad finger".
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140110045247/http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2006-09-25 This] ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' strip, done by Rocky the Elemental. Slightly justified in that he can't speak and communicates through gestures.
** Later, when Stunt badmouths him when he thinks he's not around, Rocky shoves a single arm up through the soil. Guess the gesture.
* Used several times in ''[[Loserz]]'', like [https://web.archive.org/web/20110519173457/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/2 here] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20101213184407/http://bukucomics.com/loserz/go/155 here].
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* [[The Bugle]] has a regular feature where listeners' Great Bird-Flipping Stories are read out.
* [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160319105357/http://www.fuh2.com/ Fuck You And Your H2] is a site dedicated entirely to pictures of people flipping off Hummer H2 drivers.
* In ''Planet Dolan'''s, Dolan Stories: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4EEBL8rnVM OUR PETS ARE WEIRD], Hellbent gives this to a dog after he saw her jumping on his bed to pee.
** In ''Super Planet Dolan'' Dolan Life Mysteries: [https://youtu.be/ChsgAaTO-gU Does Space Have A "Colour"?], Hellbent once again was about to do this before Pringle [[Scenery Censor| blocks him]].
* In ''Elite Facts'' video [https://youtu.be/VEGvJ9GP2Gk 50 Random Shower Thoughts #3], the narrator states this as being a hand signal for 'my bad' on the road, but he also inserts "No One would use it though"... implying this trope as many would say.
* Try image search for "fucktopus". There's even a 3D-printable model.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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* In a [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]] moment in ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Ed, Edd n Eddy]]'', Eddy does this to Rolf in "Ed in the Bush". Of course, [[Four-Fingered Hands|it's not apparent that he even has a middle finger]].
* In ''[[Beast Machines]],'' Thrust very clearly flips Optimus Primal the bird. (One imagines the animators only [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|got away with it]] because Thrust only has 3 fingers on each hand.) Optimus is not amused.
== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* When captured by North Korea, the crew of the ship USS ''Pueblo'' were forced to appear in staged propaganda photos. Each man showed the finger in the photos. When pressed, they claimed it was a Hawaiian Good Luck sign. Unfortunately, North Korea was able to read the foreign press and soon discovered the truth.
* Both parties in US politics in the 2000s:
▲** Some people claim [[Barack Obama]] did this to [[Hillary Clinton]] during the primaries in 2008. Others maintain that he was just scratching his nose with his middle finger.
** [[George W. Bush]]'s [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_bylg-Jjz8 one fingered victory salute].
▲* An equivalent gesture (called in French the ''bras d'honneur'' or "[[Ironic Name|Arm of Honor]]") is bending your right elbow, clenching your right fist and putting your left hand on your right arm's side opposing that of the elbow. The western variant was also imported into Russia from the West after [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]]. One can combine the arm with the Finger for emphasis.
▲** Although it means the number 2 in American Sign Language, in many other English speaking countries like
▲* On WABC-TV in New York, anchor [[Deadpan Snarker|Roger Grimsby]] introduced a live broadcast from reporter Mara Wolinsky. Mara had been getting trouble from the cameraman and flipped him off just as the live broadcast started. The camera quickly cut back to Grimsby, who said, "Apparently, Mara knows who's number one in New York."
▲* There was a minor scandal during the last{{when}} election in Sweden, when the chairman of the Left Party flipped off a leading Conservative during a debate. Luckily, it was not televised. Unluckily, someone had a cellphone camera.
▲* The most epic bird-flippery so far happened when [https://web.archive.org/web/20121031180854/http://www.metro.co.uk/news/802617-starlings-give-twitchers-the-bird a flock of birds flipped the bird]... 'en masse' [[Synchronized Swarming|as a flock]].
▲* Actress Pauley Perrette, best known for her role as Abby Sciuto on ''[[NCIS]]'', subverts this by having a [["Have a Nice Day" Smile]] tattoo [https://web.archive.org/web/20110102204432/http://peekabootattoos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Pauley-Perrette-Tattoos-2.jpg on the middle finger of her right hand].
▲* During the final week of testimony in the Casey Anthony murder trial, a 28-year-old spectator [[What an Idiot!|decided to ignore the strict court orders against overt gestures or expressions]], and flipped off prosecutor Jeff Ashton. Judge Belvin Perry found him in contempt and sentenced him to six days in county jail and a total fine of just over six hundred dollars.
▲* Davao City, Philippines vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte flashed the finger and cussed at critics of his daughter Sara (who was the mayor) following her widely-publicized punching of a trial court sheriff. Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/07/04/11/duterte-flashes-dirty-finger-sara<!-- E280%99s-critics -->{{dead link}}
▲* One Utah homeowner was run through hell by his neighbors for building 18" above the maximum roof height. In response, he put some "abstract art" of "cacti" on the side of his house, in their direction. [http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/ventcover.asp You be the judge.]
▲* Comedian Jackie Mason nearly saw his career destroyed after being accused of having done this during a 1964 appearance on ''
▲* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrU5QMLwVIk Penelope Soto], a Florida woman who was busted on a drug charge, became infamous for [[What an Idiot!|doing this to a judge]]; even the female detainee behind Soto was [[Corpsing|seen chuckling]].
▲* [https://youtu.be/e_6UgdS-NEs In
* [[Blatant Lies|This never happens]] in [[Canadian Politics]]. The [http://www.parli.ca/salmon-arm-salute/ "Salmon Arm Salute"], however...
* Greek cynic [[w:Diogenes|Diogenes]] was known to do this towards his detractors.
▲=== Sports ===
▲* Cyclist [[wikipedia:Mark Cavendish|Mark Cavendish]] gave us this post-win [https://web.archive.org/web/20121112043832/http://cdn3.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/2010/04/29/2/par3206415_600.jpg British variant].
▲* A 1972 [[Monday Night Football]] game between the Oakland Raiders and Houston Oilers had a incident in which [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] cameras caught several Oilers fans leaving (the putrid Oilers were losing badly to then-AFC powerhouse Oakland). One guy that stayed happened to be caught on camera and, [[Medium Awareness|seemingly aware of it]], raised the middle digit. This incident also provided commentator Don Meredith's "[[Crowning Moment of Funny|We're number 1 in the nation]]" quip.
▲** Similar to this incident, the late newscast for [[San Francisco]] [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] station KGO following [[Super Bowl]] XIX (won by the hometown 49ers) shows a clip of some Miami Dolphins fans in a hotel to support the defeated Dolphins and one fan on an escalator flips the bird briefly ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TanoA3QTp8Q around the 1:51 mark]).
▲* Has cropped up a couple of times in [[NASCAR]]. One was in Dale Earnhardt's last race, done rather like an irate driver in traffic (which, in a way, he was), on Kurt Busch. Mike Joy interpreted it as Earnhardt telling Busch, "Kurt, you're number one."
▲** Then, in the 7 November 2010 race at Texas, Kyle Busch did this to a NASCAR official who was enforcing a penalty on him. One (lap penalty) plus one (finger raised) equalled three (lap penalty).
▲* [[Formula One]] had a few infamous cases. Heinz-Harald Fretzen did it to Mark Blundell after passing him, and his finger itself was caught on the on-car camera. Johnny Herbert [http://www.atlasf1.com/2000/mal/preview/cunliffe1.jpg did one on the podium].
▲* During Game 4 of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlKggtLYecU Andrew Ference of the Bruins let the Habs fans have it by flipping them off after scoring Boston's second goal in the second period]. Which is a case of [[Take That]] to the Montreal fans. Needless to say, [[Serious Business|the fans got pissed off]] and Ference would later be fined $2500 for the unsportsmanlike gesture.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Body Language]]
[[Category:Insult Tropes]]
[[Category:Hand Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Flipping the Bird]]
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