The middle finger, long finger, or tall finger is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is usually the longest finger. It is also called the third finger, digitus medius, digitus tertius, or digitus III in anatomy.

In Western countries, extending the middle finger (either on its own, 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 (colloquially known as "flipping the bird", "flipping someone off", or simply "giving the finger").

The middle finger is often used for finger snapping together with the thumb.

References

In Western culture, the finger or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger or the bird or flipping someone off,) is an obscene hand gesture. It communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to "fuck off", "fuck you", "shove it up your ass", "up yours" or "go fuck yourself". It is performed by showing the back of a closed fist that has only the middle finger extended upwards, though in some locales the thumb is extended. Extending the finger is considered a symbol of contempt in several cultures, especially Western ones. Many cultures use similar gestures to display their disrespect, although others use it to express pointing without intentional disrespect toward other cultures.

The gesture dates back to Ancient Greece and it was also used in Ancient Rome. Historically, it represented the phallus. In some modern cultures, it has gained increasing recognition as a sign of disrespect, and has been used by music artists (notably more common among hardcore punk bands and rappers), actors, celebrities, athletes, and politicians. Most still view the gesture as obscene. The index finger and ring finger besides the middle finger in more contemporary periods has been likened to represent the testicles.

"Middle Finger" is a song recorded by American synthpop band Cobra Starship. The track was written and produced by Norwegian production team Stargate and features Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller. It was released as the third promotional single from their fourth studio album, "Night Shades" and later as the second official single.

Background

After the success of the single "You Make Me Feel...", which was their most successful single on the charts, the band released three promotional singles, which where available exclusively through iTunes. The first was "1Nite" on July 26, the second was "Fool Like Me" on August 9 and the last one was "Middle Finger" on August 23. It later, became the second official single of the album on January 3, 2012, with a single containing two remixes, being released on the iTunes Store.

Composition

"Middle Finger" was written by Cobra Starship, Nate Walka, Mac Miller and co-written and produced by Stargate. "It's just like a fun song," Cobra Starship lead singer Gabe Saporta tells The BoomBox. Despite having the opportunity to add a more popular rapper to the track, produced by Norwegian production duo Stargate, Saporta chose to go with Miller because he was lesser known.