give the finger

1. Make an obscene gesture by closing one's fist and extending one's middle finger upward, generally interpreted as fuck you. For example, Herb has a dangerous habit of giving the finger to motorists who cut in front of him. Although from about 1890 to 1920 this term was used in the sense of “disappoint or snub someone,” that meaning seems to have died out. [Second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

In the Republican world, freedom means going unvaccinated in a pandemic in order to give the finger to the nanny state.

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Like with Hill, the Dodgers will have to decide whether to let Syndergaard keep pitching or to shut him down for a few weeks and give the finger time to heal.

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“It was always a way to push back against the institution. I think that that natural spirit of wanting to give the finger to the larger institution as a whole is also what made angsty 18-year-old me be like, ‘Yeah, land art is the best.’”

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"There he is, that's where he still sits. And as you ride by, you give the finger and in that life, it sounds crazy, but that's what they do."

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It's only when you get right to that bullseye core around Donald Trump and his innermost confidants that people think they're somehow above the law and can just give the finger to the U.S.

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