Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 16:09:30 EDT

From: "http://www.usa.net/~ague" ague[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]REDRCK.ENET.DEC.COM

Subject: Re: pop one's fingers



A friend of mine, African-American, reports that "finger popping" means

that one is going out for the evening, as in "Are you going out

fingerpopping tonite?" No specific activity is referred to, though dancing

is a common meaning. My friend was born in St. Louis, to parents from

Alabama and Kentucky. She says that she has heard and used the expression

most of her life.



This is exactly the same meaning I got from the Hank Ballard hit tune of the

late fifties, that a party was about to happen.



Hey now, hey now, it's finger pop - poppin' time,

Finger poppin', poppin' time,

mumble feels so good, and that's a real good sign.



Here comes Sally, here comes Sue,

Here comes mumble and Bobby too.



etc.



Of course, as teen-age males, way before Weird Al's time, my friends and I

swore that Hank was actually singing a particular four letter word in place

of "pop".



-- Jim