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Knock on wood

Posted by M. E. James on August 06, 2000

In Reply to: Knock on wood posted by ESC on August 02, 2000

: : I am most anxious to determine the basis and meaning of the expression: knock on wood and why we actually do it on expecting good luck.

: Charles Earle Funk, in Heavens to Betsy! and Other Curious Sayings says: "...No one knows how the superstition arose, but George Stimpson, in 'A Book About a Thousand Things,' which the publishers Harper & Brothers, permit me to quote, presents some of the numerous theories that have been offered. He says:

: '...Some attribute it to the old game known as 'touching wood' or 'wood tag,' in which a player who succeeds in touching wood is safe from capture. Others hold that this game and 'knocking on wood' had a common origin in primitive tree worship, when trees were believed to harbor protective spirits. To rap on a tree -- the dwelling place of a friendly spirit -- was to call up the spirit of the tree to protect one against impending misfortune. Later, people would place the hand on a wooden statue of a deity for the same purpose...still others believe the superstition is of Christian origin and that it is in some way associated with the wooden cross upon which Jesus was crucified..."

: The usage with which I am familiar is not that one knocks on wood in hopes of good fortune. One knocks on wood when one makes a verbal statement about something good, such as "No one in our family has had the flu this year, knock on wood." This would be accompanied by rapping on any available wood. The reason for rapping on wood is to make noise. One does this to keep the devil from hearing that things are going well. If the devil hears things are going well, he will make an intervention to affect change.

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