Pinky swear

To pinky swear, or to make a pinky promise, is the locking of the pinkies of two people to signify that a promise has been made.if the promise is broken the person can break the finger of the person who broke the promise In the United States, it is most common among school-aged children and close friends. The pinky swear signifies a promise that cannot be broken. Pinky promises can only be made if there is a clear understanding on both groups. If there is unclear understanding then the pinky promise may be voided.

Pinky swear

In the United States, the pinky swear has existed since at least 1860, when Dictionary of Americanisms listed the following accompanying promise:

Pinky, pinky bow-bell,
Whoever tells a lie
Will sink down to the bad place [sic]
And never rise up again.[1]

Pinky swearing has an equivalent in Japan, where it is called yubikiri (指切り, "finger cut-off") and often additionally confirmed with the vow "Finger cut-off, ten thousand fist-punchings, whoever lies has to swallow thousand needles." (指切拳万、嘘ついたら針千本呑ます, "Yubikiri genman, uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu").[2]

Recently in South Korea, the hooked pinky has been followed by a "seal", wherein the thumbs touch each other while the pinkies are still hooked.[3][4]

In September 2015, a distracted driver hit and badly injured Ontario woman, Linda "Pinky" Brown while she was riding her pink motorcycle. While "Pinky" was in the hospital, she backed a campaign known as "Don't Drive Distracted—I Pinky Swear". Since then, authorities in Canada have introduced harsh penalties for distracted driving.[5]

In Italy a similar tradition is called "giurin giurello" or "giurin giuretto".