literally give the bird
June 13th, 2005 by Fitz
Top 5 flip-offs - Yahoo! News
1. Casey Stengel, Pirates. The legendary manager was a right fielder having a rough day at Ebbets Field in 1919 when he gave the bird–literally–to a crowd of more than 20,000. Tired of getting booed for his 0-for-3 day at the plate and costly defensive blunder, Stengel doffed his cap when he came to bat late in the game–and out flew a sparrow that he had picked up in the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Nice! A correct (and pretty funny) use of “literally”.
Related:
- literally gave him the finger
- What’s the origin of “the finger”? (straightdope.com)
- Gripmaster, Hand & Finger Exerciser
June 14th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
It would have been funnier if they had said he “flipped the bird” when he “flipped off his hat”. Oh, so many levels of meaning.