Don't split the pole
Posted by Victoria S Dennis on December 06, 2005
In Reply to: Don't split the pole posted by Michael S. Becker on December 06, 2005
: Several years ago I worked with inner-city African-American families from Chicago, Illinois. When I would take walks with them and an obstacle was in the way (i.e. a telephone pole, utility pole, flag pole) it was important that the group walk together around the pole and not separate. They would often say "Don't split the pole." What is the origin of this phrase?
It sounds as though the superstition you describe was the origin of the phrase.
- Don't split the pole R. Berg 07/December/05