V-sign(s)

A post on the v-sign. It means victory, right? And wrong too. There are two meanings to this sign. Firstly there is the Churchill one on victory with the palm of the hand towards the receiver(s) of the v-sign. The second meaning is the same as the globally recognized middle-finger-sign, the palm of the hand is directed towards the issuer. I never knew this, always had it mistaken for someone not knowing how to give the middel-finger. So today I gave Andy the v-sign, immediately explaining why; he had a big smile on his face and explained it stems from an ancient war between Britain and France where the archers fired their arrows, the enemy responded with the v-sign grabbing the two fingers as to say "when I get you I will chop of your 2 fingers" hence no more arrows. Somehow through time this has evolved to an obscene gesture used only by the British. Of course it also means the cypher 2, but keep you fingers on a 45 degree angle to be sure not to walk into a British fist.