The Index Finger

While looking through some Hungarian language material, I came across a collection of 'hand gestures' and 'expletives deleted,' as it were, presented in a fun, humorous manner. Think the universal ‘middle finger’ or the Italian ‘vaffanculo,’ which includes one arm stretched out in front, while bringing the fist of the other, hard into the crook of the first arm (elbow).

Which got me to thinking about the index finger. Unbeknownst to me, once I opened that 'Pandora's box,' it was like falling into 'Alice's rabbit-hole.' And if you understood the references in the previous sentence, English is, no doubt, your first language. Congratulations; you don't know how lucky you are.

Anyway, 'index finger' literally means 'pointing finger,' from the Latin word, to 'indicate.' And I suppose that is how we all understand it. In America, the UK, and Canada, it is also the 'first finger,' the 'fore finger,' the 'trigger finger' ("Don't get trigger-happy with that gat, old sport!"). The thumb is the thumb; the index finger is the first 'digit,' and the thumb is the fifth. World-wide, that’s not always so.

Wikipedia makes the case that a lone index finger held aloft signifies the number 1 (one), but not always: "In the Western world a finger is raised for each unit. While there are extensive differences between and even within countries, there are generally speaking, two systems. The main difference between the two systems is that the "German" or "European" system starts counting with the thumb, while the "American" system starts counting with the index finger."

This brings to mind an incident I experienced when I was newly-arrived in Hungary. Alexandra & I visited a self-serve restaurant, and after ordering our food and finding a place to sit, I asked her if she would care for a small glass of wine (wine is sold by the deciliter). She declined, but I did want one, so I approached the bar. I asked politely for a "vörös bor." The bartender was across the bar and asked, "Mennyi", and I held up my index finger while saying, "Egy." Much to my surprise, she brought me 2 glasses of red wine(!). I showed, I'm sure, a perplexed look, because she asked, in perfect English, "What?" And I explained to her that I only wanted/ordered one. Now it was her turn to look at me quizzically, no doubt thinking, 'another ugly American.' Although, to her credit, she said nothing and simply took one glass away while also taking my money away. When I relayed this to Alex, she asked me 'how did you order?,' an odd question, I thought. I demonstrated my technique, upon which she laughed (she does that a lot), "Here, to signify one, you stick your thumb up." Who knew? 

Lesson learned; I've never forgotten that.