[Post number 11]
There is a hand sign that seems to have been popular in previous centuries with the Masons, "thumbing the nose", which is often mentioned in dictionaries under the listing for"thumb". With this sign, the hand is held up so that the extended thumb touches the end of the nose and the palm of the hand is held in front, flattened and in the vertical position, while the fingers waggle. In the past it may have been that the nose was sometimes held down, simulating a break of the nose. The typical situation for the use of this hand sign seems to have been one where the person doing the sign has committed a minor public nuisance or act of disturbing the peace and has run to a safe distance, at which point they do the sign. The waggling of the fingers signifies the fluttering of a bird's wing and connects to the Masonic metaphor of "air", to refer to street gangs of various kinds. Today this sign seems to have been separated into parts, one could say. The description of the sign, "thumbing the nose", is most often used as a term of speech, meaning disrespectful defiance, usually without invoking an image of the old fashioned hand sign. A bending of the nose to the side briefly with the thumb, seems now to be the action which is associated with the expression, but this action is usually done with ambivalence, some operational cover one might say, so is less extreme. The connotation is of working class strength. Or, in the mass media, it might only be a general Masonic sign. The reference of this brief thumb-to-nose sign seems to be to boxing. At the beginning of a boxing match, fighters would often block one nostril with the thumb and sniff back any fluid in the other nostril to clear the airway, without dropping their guard. This sign carries some acknowledgment of the "rules of the game", so seems to diverge from the old fashioned hand sign.
The waggling fingers from the old fashioned hand sign continued on, in a slightly different form also, in vaudeville theatre in the late 19th century and cabaret theatre in the first half of the 20th century.This slightly different form of hand movement could be described as a wavering of the hand with fluttering of the fingers, with the palm of the hand facing forward, held out to the side of the body. This sign also connects to an image of a bird's wing and to "air", to street gang activity.
A hand sign of more recent times that has borrowed from "the wavering hand with fluttering fingers" hand sign is one known variously as the "bong on", "hang ten", or "shaka" hand sign. This hand sign is done by extending the thumb and small finger while the other three fingers are held in. When the hand is held so that the fingers are upright except that the thumb tilts out a bit and the little finger tilts in a bit, the "bong on" meaning is conveyed. The hand is raised above the level of the elbow, giving a slightly laid back angle to the hand. [A bong is an upright water-pipe used for smoking marijuana.] When the knuckles are pointing up and the thumb and little finger are out to the side, the "hang ten" meaning is conveyed, and the wavering of the hand is added. Here, the wavering of the hand invokes an image of ocean waves, of water that is in contact with moving air. It has been designated by the Masons to people who like surfing and who also come in contact with street gangs. The other name for this hand sign, the "shaka" hand sign, is a Hawaiian name [the internet tells me], and probably refers to both of the above uses of the hand sign.
This same hand sign, where the thumb and little finger are out, is often used in stage craft to mimic speaking on the telephone. The thumb is held close to the ear and the little finger close to the mouth suggesting the shape of a telephone receiver. In each of these situations the Masons probably see a secondary reference to a compass.
A different hand-to-face sign which connects with the word "compass", is one where the person doing the sign pulls the end of their nose, pretending that there is an itch there. This sign connects with dictionary meaning numbers 9 and 10 for the verb "compass" in The Oxford English Dictionary [Second Edition], which is "To grasp with the mind, comprehend fully", a re-phrasing of this being "To grasp the point,[of an argument]". With the Masonic sign that pairs with this word meaning, a word play has suggested a physical grasping of the point of the nose, or, as a variation, a male grasping his genitalia, "the point", in this word play variation. The second of these signs is usually done on the pretext of adjusting the crotch for comfort. As with the other Masonic signs, one sign tends to be reinforced with other signs, such that ambiguities can be resolved by those who are paying attention to this underworld.
Another hand sign is the "o.k" hand sign. This hand sign is done by forming a circle with the thumb and index finger. The thumb and index finger do not touch each other on the ends but pass y each other and make contact on the sides, when the sign is done by those with the Masons. This makes the circle of these two digits rounder as well as smaller. The other fingers of the hand are spread out above. This sign is not a secret sign. It is openly displayed, but there are some points to be noted. Dictionaries tell us that the word "okay" and the variation "o.k" is derived from "orl korrect", a humourous variation on "all correct" [such as the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary]. But there is a truer origin [I believe].
The compass, that the Masons see as one of their symbols, connects with the symbol of the millstone. The carving of the millstones in times past, was assisted by the marking of a circle on the piece of stone to be used. For this purpose a large compass with arms around three or four feet long [about a metre], was used. One may have seen compasses of this length forming the symbol of the two crossed compasses that has often been mounted on the front of Masonic lodges. An alternative being a compass crossed with a square [the instrument], which the Masons seem to be shifting to.
The millstone became a central symbol of the Masons at some point after Jesus Christ spoke the words "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" [Matthew xviii 6, King James Version]. The Masons decided to base their standard of criminality on these words. They then adopted the millstone as the symbol of their criminal conspiracy, and then the compass, which gave them more operational cover.
We have noted how the Masons were connected to the Knights Templar. [Now I would rephrase this as the Knights Templars being connected to a secret organization centring on stonemasons, which became the Masons.]
And it has been noted how the Masons carried on some of the show of knighthood as a from of operational cover. The word "okay" is derived from "o.k." [I believe], meaning millstone-wearing knight. the "o" represents the millstone and the "k." stands for the word "knight". The "o.k." hand sign was a hand sign that gave the meaning "millstone-wearing knight". The word "o.k." was probably first used in North America, in a phrase such as "He's an o.k.". The Masons could not control its use though, and it entered the American language. While the Masons had no doubt used the word as a term of respect, as the word entered the language its meaning was often "average, acceptable, mediocre". This was probably because the people who were first described as being "o.k." were not really of good character, but were often successful in hiding their criminality.
When the Masons realized that "o.k." had gone into the language and that its meaning was now different to what it meant to them ["average", instead of something highly regarded], they began trying to misappropriate the word "good", for their own use, and to put Masonic meanings onto it. One of their aims in this being the disparagement of religion, such as the teachings of The Good Book, the Bible.
When one looks closely, it appears that the Masons have been putting their mark on the English language for centuries. The Masonic symbol of the millstone is represented in words that have a "oo" sound and use the "oo" spelling. The symbol of the Knights Templar was an emblem of two knights riding on the one horse. Similarly, except in secret, a symbol of the Masons is two millstone-wearing knights standing as one gang. As a result of their influence in the development of the English language, there is a pattern of words with the "oo" spelling. In the building field there are the words "room", "door", "roof", "floor", and "tools". In the field of war we have "troops", "platoon", "shoot", "bazooka", and "blood". The last of these words does not have one of the normal "oo" sounds, but the "oo" spelling has been adopted. "Door" and "floor" don't have the standard "oo" sound either. Neither does "brooch", an ornamental item that is often made of gold. In the domain of street crime, there are slang words such as "crooked", "bootleg", "moonshine", "booze", "hooch", "loot", "booty", 'boost", "hooker", "boobs", "woody", "nookie", "bookie", "schmooze", "mooch", and "lampoon". The field of espionage has the word "spook". The field of education has the words "school", "book", "classroom", and "hooky". To describe things that are good, besides the word "good" there is "boon" and "boom", and the exclamatory sounds "wooh!", "woo-hoo!", and "yahoo!", and for times that are not good, we have "gloom", and "doom".
In the French language the "00" sound is common, but not the spelling. But, similar to the colloquial English "yoo-hoo", and "tood-a-loo", which are largely associated with prostitution, there is the French exclamatory phrase "ooh-la-la". And then there is what is one of the few standard French words with the "oo" spelling, the French word for alcohol, "alcool ".
The Masons inject this signage into numbers as well. One number in particular can be associated with the Masons. Two millstone-wearing knights standing as one gang - 2001. This might cause one to wonder whether Osama bin Laden is a Mason. I cannot see anything that suggests that he is. There is much to suggest that the Masons planned the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington and not Osama bin Laden. It may be that the Masons were planning an event such as this for the year 2001 for more than a hundred years.
Continuing with hand signs, another hand sign is the two finger hand sign meaning "get f***ed!". It derives its meaning from the idea of rape [more strongly that of homosexual rape] as a form of domination. Once again, a statue of Julius Caesar could be said to be either the model for this hand sign or an early example of it. This is the statue located on the Via Foro Imperiali in front of the Forum Julia, in Rome. One hand has the bow shaped hand sign and the other hand has the two finger sign. This two finger sign is done by raising the index finger and middle finger, with both fingers curving slightly, with a gap between the fingers and the fingernails facing forward, and usually with some wrist action. A common variation of this hand sign, especially in England, has the two fingers straightened.
A similar sign [or gesture] used in North America uses just one finger raised, that being the middle finger. Known as "raising the middle finger", "giving them the finger", or "flipping the bird", it pairs with the words "f*** you". The raised middle finger is a phallic symbol and it carries the same idea of rape as a form of domination as the two finger sign. The name "the bird" seems to derive from the position of the fingers that are held down, which resemble the position of a bird's folded wings.