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Contrary to Hollywood mythos, a thumbs down in the Coliseum meant ‘spare him’… and a thumb to the side meant ‘kill him.’ So … where did the thumbs up originate?
This may have originated with the China-based Flying Tigers, who were among the first American flyers involved in WWII. The appreciative Chinese would say ”挺好的“ (“ting hao de”), meaning “very good,” and gesture with a thumbs up, which in Chinese means “you’re number one.” Wikipedia
Don’t remember where I first heard it, really. The IMDb site for Spartacus mentions it under ‘Goofs’. It’s amazing how much of what we see in the movies is pure crap.
http://wordinfo.info/unit/3735/ip:1/il:K and http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/games/a/thumbsup.htm provide more than you really want to know about gladiators and thumbs. Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down was actually trademarked by Siskel and Ebert (became part of contract dispute between Disney and Ebert) —
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Comments (24) (Please sign in to comment)
Bruno Zeigerts said, 3 months ago
Contrary to Hollywood mythos, a thumbs down in the Coliseum meant ‘spare him’… and a thumb to the side meant ‘kill him.’
So … where did the thumbs up originate?
simpsonfan2 said, 3 months ago
Otm Shank is India’s answer to Brian Dennehy.
Sillstaw
said, 3 months ago
Great, now I miss Roger Ebert’s voice again…
Prof danglais said, 3 months ago
@Bruno Zeigerts
This may have originated with the China-based Flying Tigers, who were among the first American flyers involved in WWII. The appreciative Chinese would say ”挺好的“ (“ting hao de”), meaning “very good,” and gesture with a thumbs up, which in Chinese means “you’re number one.”
Wikipedia
JohnnyDiego said, 3 months ago
What was the Brian Dennehy incident? I know he lied about serving in Viet Nam but really, I’m lost on this one.
SusanSunshine
said, 3 months ago
JohnnyD …. me too.
Varnes said, 3 months ago
Bruno, I love things like that…Where did you get that from…?
Dogsniff
said, 3 months ago
@Bruno Zeigerts: …where did the thumbs up originate?
At the proctologist’s.
jreckard said, 3 months ago
@Bruno Zeigerts: …where did the thumbs up originate?
Maybe someone with lisp tried to announce dawn.
olddog1 said, 3 months ago
To get back to the comic, does anyone understand it? Explain.
nighthawks
said, 3 months ago
apparently nobody knows except the cartoonist. Maybe if we google Brian Dennehy’s thumb?
Perkycat said, 3 months ago
@Dogsniff
Only you, Dogsniff, only you! Typical Dogsniff comment – funny.
Bruno Zeigerts said, 3 months ago
@Varnes
Don’t remember where I first heard it, really. The IMDb site for Spartacus mentions it under ‘Goofs’.
It’s amazing how much of what we see in the movies is pure crap.
GoodQuestion
said, 3 months ago
@Bruno Zeigerts
It possibly came from the Unicorns’ cheering squad when they played football against the Centaurs . . . . ☻
GreenT267 said, 3 months ago
http://wordinfo.info/unit/3735/ip:1/il:K and http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/games/a/thumbsup.htm provide more than you really want to know about gladiators and thumbs.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down was actually trademarked by Siskel and Ebert (became part of contract dispute between Disney and Ebert) —