Pinky swear: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Pinky |
[[File:Pinky Promise.JPG|thumb|A pinky swear]] |
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To '''pinky swear''', or make a '''pinky promise''', is the entwining of the [[Little finger#Cultural significance|little fingers ("pinkies")]] of two people to signify that a promise has been made. |
To '''pinky swear''', or make a '''pinky promise''', is the entwining of the [[Little finger#Cultural significance|little fingers ("pinkies")]] of two people to signify that a promise has been made. |
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:''And never rise up again.''<ref name=pinky>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=42UPAAAAYAAJ&q=pinky#v=snippet&q=pinky&f=false|title=Pinky|publisher=googlebooks|work=Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms|accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref> |
:''And never rise up again.''<ref name=pinky>{{cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=42UPAAAAYAAJ&q=pinky#v=snippet&q=pinky&f=false|title=Pinky|publisher=googlebooks|work=Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms|accessdate=2013-05-25}}</ref> |
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Pinky swearing presumably started in Japan, where it is called {{Nihongo||指切り|'''yubikiri'''|"finger cut-off"}} and often additionally confirmed with the vow {{Nihongo|"Finger cut-off, ten thousand fist-punchings, whoever lies has to swallow thousand needles."|「指切りげんまんうそついたら針千本のます」|"Yubikiri genman uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu"}}.<ref>[[Daijirin]]</ref> The gesture may be connected to the Japanese belief that soulmates are connected by a [[red string of fate]] attached to each of their pinkies. |
Pinky swearing presumably started in Japan, where it is called {{Nihongo||指切り|'''yubikiri'''|"finger cut-off"}} and often additionally confirmed with the vow {{Nihongo|"Finger cut-off, ten thousand fist-punchings, whoever lies has to swallow thousand needles."|「指切りげんまんうそついたら針千本のます」|"Yubikiri genman uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu"}}.<ref>[[Daijirin]]</ref> The gesture may be connected to the Japanese belief that soulmates are connected by a [[red string of fate]] attached to each of their pinkies. Its also know to make rose leaves fall and die. which is a horrifying thought. |
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In Japan, the pinky swear originally indicated that the person who breaks the promise must [[Yubitsume|cut off their pinky finger]].<ref>Hill, Peter B. E.: "The Japanese Mafia: Yakuza, law, and the state", p. 75. [[Oxford University Press|Oxford Univ. Press]], 2003</ref> {{dubious|date=April 2013}} In modern times, pinky swearing is a more informal way of sealing a promise. It is most common among school-age children and close friends. The pinky swear signifies a promise that cannot be broken or counteracted by the [[crossed fingers|crossing of fingers]] or other such trickery.<ref>Iwai, H . Byōri Shūdan: "Sheishin-Shobō", p. 225. 1963</ref> |
In Japan, the pinky swear originally indicated that the person who breaks the promise must [[Yubitsume|cut off their pinky finger]].<ref>Hill, Peter B. E.: "The Japanese Mafia: Yakuza, law, and the state", p. 75. [[Oxford University Press|Oxford Univ. Press]], 2003</ref> {{dubious|date=April 2013}} In modern times, pinky swearing is a more informal way of sealing a promise. It is most common among school-age children and close friends. The pinky swear signifies a promise that cannot be broken or counteracted by the [[crossed fingers|crossing of fingers]] or other such trickery.<ref>Iwai, H . Byōri Shūdan: "Sheishin-Shobō", p. 225. 1963</ref> |
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Revision as of 02:53, 2 January 2016
To pinky swear, or make a pinky promise, is the entwining of the little fingers ("pinkies") of two people to signify that a promise has been made.
In the United States, the pinky swear has existed since at least 1860, when Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms listed the following accompanying promise:
- Pinky, pinky bow-bell,
- Whoever tells a lie
- Will sink down to the bad place [sic]
- And never rise up again.[1]
Pinky swearing presumably started in Japan, where it is called yubikiri (指切り, "finger cut-off") and often additionally confirmed with the vow "Finger cut-off, ten thousand fist-punchings, whoever lies has to swallow thousand needles." (「指切りげんまんうそついたら針千本のます」, "Yubikiri genman uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu").[2] The gesture may be connected to the Japanese belief that soulmates are connected by a red string of fate attached to each of their pinkies. Its also know to make rose leaves fall and die. which is a horrifying thought.
In Japan, the pinky swear originally indicated that the person who breaks the promise must cut off their pinky finger.[3] [dubious – discuss] In modern times, pinky swearing is a more informal way of sealing a promise. It is most common among school-age children and close friends. The pinky swear signifies a promise that cannot be broken or counteracted by the crossing of fingers or other such trickery.[4]
References
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