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Pinkey Shminky: the sotry behind the pinky swear

“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course you can.”
“Pinky swear not to tell anyone?”
“For sure, pinky swear.”

In all honesty, in our day and age how binding is the pinky swear? Although it is still an unmistakeable sign of the importance of what the person before you is about to say, do most people take it seriously? My boyfriend and I, being the silly dorks that we are, went one step further and invented the thumby swear. For us the thumby swear outweighs the pinky swear: it means that you seriously — and I mean seriously — can’t tell anyone. But at the end of the day, the one who is sworn to keep the secret will make up his or her own mind about whether or not to share it with anyone.

Let’s backtrack a little and ask the all-knowing Wiki what it has to say about the pinky swear:

“To pinky swear (in some regions referred to as the pinky promise or pinky square) is when two people entwine their pinky fingers to signify that a promise has been made. It is often seen in anime, where it is called a yubikiri (Japanese for “Finger Cut-off”). It is also possible for a pinky swear to exist between three parties, known as a three-way pinky promise. A pinkie swear between four or more people is relatively unknown.

Traditionally, the pinky swear is considered binding and tantamount to a handshake in terms of sealing a deal. The pinky swear originally indicated that the person who breaks the promise must cut off their pinky finger. In modern times, pinky swearing is a more informal way of sealing a promise. It is most common among school-age children and close friends. The pinky swear signifies a promise that cannot be broken or counteracted by the crossing of fingers, the “I take it back,” or any similar trickery.”

I think that aside from the morbid, finger-cutting origins of pinky swearing (Ouch! I really hope that never makes a come back!), ritualistic gestures — be it the linking of pinkies or the interlacing of thumbs — will always be an important part of the sealing of a promise between friends.