Poll: V for Peace, or V for Victory? -Poll-
- Thread starter Elvis Starburst
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Never heard anyone say "V for peace", it's just called "the peace sign".
Whilst "V for victory" is a fairly well known phrase.
Whilst "V for victory" is a fairly well known phrase.
Historically it is V for Victory. Victory over tyrants. Victory over overwhelming odds. Victory for all that is good and decent in this world - including peace.
They were fighting for quite a lot of stuff we take for granted back in WW2 you know.
Nowadays you could easily say both. At the end of WW2 many people were 'flipping' the V because the war was over and 'Victory' had become 'Peace'.
They were fighting for quite a lot of stuff we take for granted back in WW2 you know.
Nowadays you could easily say both. At the end of WW2 many people were 'flipping' the V because the war was over and 'Victory' had become 'Peace'.
Sadly not true, the v sign wasn't used until a long time later. Wish it was true though, it's a good story!Fatboy_41 said:I will.Hookah said:
During the Hundred Years War, the French armies suffered greatly at the hands of the English Longbowmen. Any captured archer would have his bow fingers, being the fingers that make the peace/victory sign, cut off so he could not fire again. When there two armies would face off, much jeering and taunting would ensue before the battle. The English Archers would take to sticking their two fingers up toward the French in a gesture to say "Ha, as long as we got these, we're gonna slaughter you guys".
Turing said:
Jean Le Fevre de Saint-Remy was a Burgundian noble that took up the profession of arms and fought within the English ranks at Agincourt. He is quoted by historian Juliet Barker as saying that during Henry V pre-battle speech he specifically mentioned the French habit of cutting off archers fingers.
Now, while that doesn't specifically mention the V gesture, I think that it is reasonable to believe this very well could be the origin. The English were outnumbered 5,000 against, some believe, up to 100,000. Now, if they were anything like the English are today, I would't put it past them to come up with some sort of insult just to piss the French off for the sake of it.
Well, I think last estimate I read was 5,000 or 6,000 English soldiers, vs about 30,000 French. Wikipedia seems to think 6,000 to 9,000 English vs 12,000 to 36,000 French. I really would love evidence that the story was true, although I'm going to remain sceptical. Especially seeing as how there doesn't seem to be any recorded usage pre-1901.Fatboy_41 said:
Plus the battle of Agincourt was amazing enough as is!
When you phrase it like that, you make it sound like all we English do are think of ways to piss off the French! And that's just untrue!Fatboy_41 said:
We've got the Germans, Italians, Spanish, all those Nordic countries, the Slavic ones, America, Australia, and on our very own doorstep, the Welsh and Scots!
I suppose the Irish too, but I'm from Birmingham. When they blew up our pubs, we just got new pubs.
nah i use my tentaclesFatboy_41 said:Don't you ever scratch your chin with your foot? 0.oMatt King said:isn't a Velociraptors claw, on it's foot?The .50 Caliber Cow said:V is for Velociraptor.
Everything is assured when a Velociraptor is involved.
Moo.
1901 seems fairly accepted as the first RECORDED usage. Of course, there was no visual recording in 1532...Turing said:
In 1532, French writer François Rabelais wrote his comedy Gargantua And Pantagruel. During on scene, he describes a battle of gestures between two characters, Panurge and Thaumast.
"Then (Panurge) stretched out the forefinger and middle finger or medical of his right hand, holding them asunder as much as he could, and thrusting them towards Thaumast... Thaumast began then to wax somewhat pale, and to tremble..."
Sounds like the V sign to me.
And coming from a Frenchman, who would be amongst the first to view it as offensive if the tale of archers is true, about 100 years after Agincourt, allowing time for the gesture to become more widespread. Either way, Agincourt would have been one hell of a day...
Depends how you do it. If you angle them out far its for victory, it you let them stay fairly close they are for peace.