Flipping the Bird

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French had the clever idea of cutting off the middle finger of all English soldiers so they couldn't use their bows and arrows. The famous weapon (the bow and arrow, not the finger-cutter)was made using the Yew tree. Firing the bow was called “plucking the yew,” or “pluck yew.” To the horror of the French, when England won they waved their middle fingers, saying, “Pluck yew!” (Thanks to Frankie for this excellent trivia).