# Peace -vs- Victory Signs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peace-vs-victory-signs/390035 "2007-01-29T23:30:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Impounded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Impounded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Impounded)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peace-vs-victory-signs/390035/1 "2007-01-29T23:30:06Z")
I was always under the impression that the sign for victory was the index and the middle finger extended while the palm of your hand faced toward you. And the sign for peace was the index and middle finger extended while the palm faces away from you. Now I see pictures of Winston Churchill with doing it both ways, and I am thinking that Winston only used it to mean victory. Is there a rule for the use of peace vs victory signs or does it not matter? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peace-vs-victory-signs/390035/2 "2007-01-29T23:49:28Z")
[This Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign) seems fairly thorought. It agrees with my personal recollection of never having heard of nor seen any kind of hand gesture “peace sign” prior to protests against the war in Vietnam. It can mean many more things than “peace” or “victory.” Context is everything, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peace-vs-victory-signs/390035/3 "2007-01-29T23:51:16Z")
Palm out = “Peace” or “Victory.” Palm in = “F you!” ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peace-vs-victory-signs/390035/4 "2007-01-30T00:34:14Z")
Was it Dan Quayle who got off his plane in Australia doing the “peace” sign with the palm in and offended the whole nation in the process? (not that it would have taken him much longer once he got a hold of a microphone)