Editing Middle finger (section)

==Overview==
In Western countries, [[The finger|extending the middle finger]] (either by itself, or along with the [[index finger]] in the United Kingdom: see [[V sign]]) is an offensive and obscene gesture, widely recognized as a form of insult, due to its resemblance of an [[Erection|erect]] [[penis]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=When did the middle finger become offensive?|work=BBC News |date=6 February 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16916263}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The shock index: is giving the finger still offensive?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/feb/22/shock-index-finger-adele-mia|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=22 February 2012 }}</ref> It is known, colloquially, as "flipping the bird",<ref>{{cite book |title=101 Ways to Flip the Bird |author=Jason Joseph, Rick Joseph |year=2007 |publisher=[[Broadway Books]] |isbn=978-0-7679-2681-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7YJl2X7CZNIC&q=flipping+the+bird&pg=PP1}}</ref> "flipping (someone) off", or "giving (someone) the finger". 

The middle finger is often used for [[finger snapping]] together with the thumb.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Acharya |first1=Raghav |last2=Challita |first2=Elio J. |last3=Ilton |first3=Mark |last4=Saad Bhamla |first4=M. |title=The ultrafast snap of a finger is mediated by skin friction |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=November 2021 |volume=18 |issue=184 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2021.0672 |pmid=34784775 |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2021.0672v|pmc=8596009 }}</ref>