Break a leg

Posted by ESC on February 06, 2004

In Reply to: Break a leg posted by R.Berg on February 06, 2004

: : Hi can you please help me find the meaning ang origin to this phrase .

: It means "Good luck!"

: Used by U.S. actors (though it may have originated in England or Germany) to wish each other well just before they go on stage. Actors have a superstition that saying "Good luck" straightforwardly would tempt the gods to subvert the wish by making something bad happen (paraphrased from Eric Partridge, Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day).

Another theory was suggested by a poster here on Phrase Finder. He said "break a leg" is a wish that the audience will be so excited that they will stomp and break the leg/foot rest on back of the seats.

• Break a leg Bruce Kahl 06/February/04
  • Break a leg US origin? Li Yar 09/February/04
    • Break a leg US origin? -- psych approach Mahesh Viswanathan 21/February/04
      • Break a leg Rainer Schlipp 24/February/04
      • Break a leg US origin? -- psych approach Rainer Schlipp 24/February/04