Re: today's history lesson
Rolfe Windward (rwindwar who-is-at ucla.edu)
Thu, 14 Aug 1997 08:55:44 -0700
As I understood it, not in a particularly scholarly way I assure you, the
gesture is referred to as "placing" or "wearing the horns" and is the
classic symbol of the cuckold. Thus it is insulting but, in many circles,
apparently also amusing. Somehow it gets a laugh even when those who
participate don't attach any particular meaning to it other than the
practical joke aspect -- a bit like the giggles elicited by the cruel
schoolyard prank of pasting a "kick me" sign on the unsuspecting back of a
classmate. -Rolfe
Rolfe Windward (Science/Technology Curriculum & Teaching)
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rwindward/
"Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find
a place in our logic." -Nicola Abbagnano