Date: Fri, 3 Oct 1997 11:16:33 -0400

From: Gregory {Greg} Downing downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IS2.NYU.EDU

Subject: Re: pop one's fingers



At 09:32 AM 10/3/97 -0600, you wrote:

We didn't ask this question in the DARE questionnaire, but anecdotal

evidence suggests that "to pop one's fingers," meaning 'to snap one's

fingers' (i.e., sliding the middle finger quickly off the thumb onto the

palm, making a snapping sound) is found chiefly in the South. Are some of

you familiar with the term? When? Where?



Thanks--



Joan





"Finger Poppin" is an R&B song from the early to mid 60's credited to Ike

Turner. The thrust of the song is that the male singer used to worry about

what a female partner did, but doesn't care any more. In the version of the

song I've heard (which is not Turner's), the key line says something like

"finger poppin' on you" (note the construction of the object, which may or

may not be a common one). Turner was born in NW Mississippi in 1931. I've

never heard "to finger pop" other than in that song, but I've only lived in

the northeast and midwest of the US.



Greg Downing/NYU, at greg.downing[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]nyu.edu or downingg[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]is2.nyu.edu