Real English
T-Shirt Slogans

October 30, 2004
Steve at the Diesel Cafe in Somerville, MA wears a "Flip the Bird" t-shirt to show his support for the Boston Red Sox, who just won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Normally, to "flip the bird" is to make a rude gesture by closing your hand and extending the middle finger, as shown in the picture above. The meaning of this gesture is "Fuck you." (I hate/disrespect you.)

Here the phrase has a double meaning. The first is "Beat the Cardinals." (literally, "Turn the Cardinals upside-down." The cardinal is the bird pictured.) The second meaning is "Show the Cardinals disrespect."