Back in the early (19, NOT 18!) 70s, my then wife and I spent about 3 months in England and Scotland, stayed at many "bed & breakfast" places. One, where they knew we were heading for a train early the next morning, blithely asked if we'd like to be "knocked up" in the morning.![]()
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The brit equivalent of the middle finger is two fingers in a V. Churchhill started it as V for Victory with the palm facing outwards. It got adapted as the FU sign with the palm facing towards you. People used to say, it were good enough for Winston it's good enough for me.
In a pub you go to the bar to get beer, they don't bring it to your table. I remember working for an American boss in London. He was at a crowded noisy bar ordering beer and he was waving 2 fingers in the barman's face for 2 beers.
One French equivalent is to hold your hand with the tip of your thumb touching the tips of your middle and index finger, then move your hand up and down. You can figure out where that one came from.