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Glite Dictionary
to get the finger

to get the finger

9.7
Receive a rude hand gesture when someone raises their middle finger
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : recibir la peineta
  • He was so rude to the staff that he got the finger as he left the restaurant.

Examples

  • After arguing with the driver, she got the finger instead of an apology.

  • When his proposal was rejected, he joked that he had really got the finger from the board.

  • Don't get the finger from him!

  • After that argument, she got the finger from her friend.

  • After arguing with the driver, she got the finger instead of an apology.

  • He was so rude to the staff that he got the finger as he left the restaurant.

  • When his proposal was rejected, he joked that he had really got the finger from the board.

Antonyms

acceptance
104 2.7

Being approved or welcomed by other people

friendly wave
1 1.0

A small movement of the hand to say hello and show kindness

How Insulting

to get the finger
  • Offensive
9.7
boo
70 5.9
to snub
7 6.3
cold shoulder
  • Informal
8 4.6
ignored
1.6

Surface Forms

get the finger infinitive
getting the finger present participle
gets the finger third person singular
got the finger past
got the finger past participle

Morphology

get + the + finger

While 'get' (to receive) and 'finger' (a hand digit) give a loose clue that something is being received, the specific sense 'to receive a rude/obscene gesture' depends on the idiomatic use of 'the finger' to mean a middle-finger insult. That cultural/idiomatic shift is not fully derivable from the parts alone, so the phrase is partially predictable but still requires prior exposure or cultural knowledge.

Etymology

Get the finger comes from the simple image of someone showing a raised middle finger at another person as a rude sign. So the phrase means 'to receive a rude or dismissive gesture'.