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Abil Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

"two-fingered salute to the rest of society"

He was supported by opposition Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, who described the image as a "two-fingered salute to the rest of society". (From BBC news)

Does the highlighted phrase mean insult / affront to the society? This is new to me. Thanks
  

Top answer

Abil He was supported by opposition Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, who described the image as a "two-fingered salute to the rest of society" . (From BBC news) Does the highlighted phrase mean insult / affront to the society? This is new to me.

— Optilang

  • Abil He was supported by opposition Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, who described the image as a "two-fingered salute to the rest of society" .
  • (From BBC news) Does the highlighted phrase mean insult / affront to the society?
  • This is new to me.
  • Thanks A two-fingered salute is a very rude gesture.
  • It basically means _ _ _ _ Off
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10 Answers
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AbilHe was supported by opposition Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, who described the image as a "two-fingered salute to the rest of society". (From BBC news)

Does the highlighted phrase mean insult / affront to the society? This is new to me. Thanks

A two-fingered salute is a very rude gesture. It basically means _ _ _ _ Off
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Thanks Optilang, I got it.
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In the US, a one-fingered "salute" is more common. It's called, variously, giving someone the finger, flipping the bird, or flipping someone off. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_finger's an interesting Wikipedia article about the gesture.
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Delmobile, I did not understand the meaning of one-fingered salute. Can you explain it a bit more.

Also, you seem to have forgot to post the link to Wikipedia article. Thanks for your efforts.
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Here's the link



It has a different meaning in the UK.
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Things are a bit more complicated. You can have both the Victory sign and the insult, depending on how your palm is facing:


In this context, it's probably the latter.
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Marius HancuThings are a bit more complicated. You can have both the Victory sign and the insult, depending on how your palm is facing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign
In this context, it's probably the latter.

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Thanks Optilang and Marius Hancu.
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Just FYI, I posted that Wikipedia link embedded in the text.

There is a video of GW Bush displaying the finger to the camera while goofing around before some filmed event - this is back when he was governor of Texas. You can hear someone off-camera gasp, then Bush says something like, "Hey, it's just the one-finger victory salute!" According to the Wikipedia article, when this video made
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This is quite interesting and I have enjoyed the Wikipedia article. Thanks a lot.
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