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