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"Break a leg" is a typical English idiom used in the context of
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
or other performing arts to wish a performer "
good luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
". An ironic or non-literal saying of uncertain origin (a
dead metaphor A dead metaphor is a figure of speech which has lost the original imagery of its meaning by extensive, repetitive, and popular usage. Because dead metaphors have a conventional meaning that differs from the original, they can be understood without ...
), "break a leg" is commonly said to
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
s and musicians before they go on stage to perform or before an
audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
. Though the term likely originates in German, the English expression is first attributed in the 1930s or possibly 1920s, originally documented without specifically theatrical associations. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg", but the French word "''
merde ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British a ...
''".


Non-theatrical origins


Yiddish-German pun theory

Most commonly favored as a credible theory by etymologists and other scholars,Partridge, Eric (2003). ''A Dictionary of Catch Phrases''. Ukraine: Taylor & Francis. p. 56.Dundes, Alan (1994). Towards a Metaphorical Reading of 'Break a Leg': A Note on Folklore of the Stage. Western Folklore, 53(1), 85-89. doi:10.2307/1499654 the term was possibly a
loan translation In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language whi ...
from the similar German phrase , literally "neck and leg(bone) break", itself a loan translation from, and
pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...
on, a Yiddish phrase ( yi, הצלחה און ברכה, hatsloche un broche, success and blessing, link=no, he, hatzlacha u-bracha, script=Latn), a wish for good luck, because of the Yiddish phrase's humorously similar pronunciation to the unrelated German phrase. For example, the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
are reported as using the phrase to wish each other luck and safety before a flight. The German-language term continues to mean "good luck" but is still not specific to the theatre.


Superstition theory

The urbane Irish nationalist
Robert Wilson Lynd Robert Wilson Lynd (''Irish: Roibéard Ó Floinn''; 20 April 1879 – 6 October 1949) was an Irish writer, editor of poetry, urbane literary essayist, socialist and Irish nationalist. Early life He was born in Belfast to Robert John Lynd, a P ...
published an article, "A Defence of Superstition", in the 1 October 1921 edition of the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...
'', a British liberal political and cultural magazine, regarding the theatre as the second-most superstitious institution in England, after horse racing. In horse racing, Lynd asserted that to wish a man luck is considered unlucky and so "You should say something insulting such as, 'May you break your leg! Thus, the expression could reflect a now-forgotten superstition (perhaps a
theatrical superstition Theatrical superstitions are superstitions particular to actors or the theatre. Macbeth William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre (the euphemism " The Scottish Play" is use ...
, though Lynd's 1921 mention is non-theatrical) in which directly wishing a person "good luck" would be considered bad luck, therefore an alternative way of wishing luck was employed. Lynd did not attribute the phrase in any way to theatre people, but he was familiar with many of them and frequently mingled with actors backstage.


Theatrical origins

The aforementioned theory regarding , a German saying via Yiddish origins, suggests that the term transferred from German aviation to German society at large and then, as early as the 1920s, into the American (or British and then American) theatre. The English translation of the term is probably explained by German-speaking Jewish immigrants entering the American entertainment industry after the First World War. The alternative theory that the term reflects an ironic superstition would date the term as originating around the same time. The earliest published example in writing specifically within a theatre context comes from American writer
Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), ''Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Ci ...
's 1939 autobiography ''A Peculiar Treasure'', in which she writes about the fascination in the theatre of "all the understudies sitting in the back row politely wishing the various principals would break a leg." American playwright
Bernard Sobel Bernard Sobel (1887–1964) was an American playwright, a drama critic for the ''New York Daily Mirror'', an author of a number of books on theatre and theatre history, and a publicist. Career Among his clients were Florenz Ziegfeld, Charles Dil ...
's 1948 ''The Theatre Handbook and Digest of Plays'' describes theatrical superstitions: "before a performance actors never wish each other good luck, but say 'I hope you break a leg. There is some anecdotal evidence from theatrical memoirs and personal letters as early as the 1920s.


Other popular but implausible theories

*The performer bowing: The term "break a leg" may refer to a performer bowing or curtsying to the audience in the metaphorical sense of bending one's leg to do so. *The performer breaking the leg line: The edge of a stage just beyond the vantage point of the audience forms a line, imaginary or actually marked, that can be referred to as the "leg line," named after a type of concealing stage curtain: a leg. For an unpaid stand-by performer to cross or "break" this line would mean that the performer was getting an opportunity to go onstage and be paid; therefore, "break a leg" might have shifted from a specific hope for this outcome to a general hope for any performer's good fortune. Even less plausible, the saying could originally express the hope that an enthusiastic audience repeatedly calls for further bows or
encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...
s. This might cause a performer to repeatedly "break" the leg line,Dart Harris, Diana (2016). Beginning Musical Theatre Dance. United States: Human Kinetics, Incorporated. p. 80. or, alternatively, it might even cause the leg curtains themselves to break from overuse. *Alluding to David Garrick: During a performance of Shakespeare's ''Richard III'', the famed 18th-century British actor David Garrick became so entranced in the performance that he was supposedly unaware of a literal fracture in his leg. *The audience breaking legs: Various folk-theories propose that Elizabethan or even Ancient Greek theatrical audiences either stomped their literal legs or banged chair legs to express applause. *Alluding to John Wilkes Booth: One popular but false etymology derives the phrase from the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln, during which
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth ...
, the actor-turned-assassin, claimed in his diary that he broke his leg leaping to the stage of
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...
after murdering the president. The fact that actors did not start wishing each other to "break a leg" until as early as the 1920s (more than 50 years later) makes this an unlikely source. Furthermore, Booth often exaggerated and falsified his diary entries to make them more dramatic.


Alternative meanings

There is an older, likely unrelated meaning of "break a leg" going back to the 17th and 18th centuries that refers to having "a bastard / natural child."


Alternative terms

Professional dancers do not wish each other good luck by saying "break a leg;" instead they say "''
Merde ''Shit'' is a word considered to be vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun, it refers to fecal matter, and as a verb it means to defecate; in the plural ("the shits"), it means diarrhea. ''Shite'' is a common variant in British a ...
!''", the French word for "shit". In turn, theater people have picked up this usage and may wish each other "''merde,''" alone or in combination with "break a leg." In Spanish, the phrase is "''mucha mierda,''" or "lots of shit." In Portuguese, it's "''muita merda,''" with the same meaning. This term refers to the times when carriages would take the audience to the theatre. A quick look to the street in front of the venue would tell if the play was successful: a lot of horse dung would mean many carriages had stopped to leave spectators. Opera singers use "''
Toi toi toi "Toi toi toi" () is an expression used in the performing arts to wish an artist success in an imminent performance. It is similar to "break a leg" and reflects a superstition that wishing someone "good luck" is in fact bad luck. Origin There are ...
,''" an idiom used to ward off a spell or hex, often accompanied by knocking on wood, and onomatopoeic, spitting (or imitating the sound of spitting). Saliva traditionally was supposed to have demon-banishing powers. From
Rotwelsch Rotwelsch (, ''" beggar's foreign (language)"'') or Gaunersprache ( ''" crook's language"'') also Kochemer Loshn (from Yiddish "", "tongue of the wise") is a secret language, a cant or thieves' argot, spoken by groups (primarily marginalized gr ...
''tof'', from
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
''tov'' ("good," derived from the Hebrew טוב and with phonetic similarities to the Old German word for "Devil"). One explanation sees "toi toi toi" as the onomatopoeic rendition of spitting three times. Spitting three times over someone's head or shoulder is a gesture to ward off evil spirits. A similar-sounding expression for verbal spitting occurs in modern Hebrew as "Tfu, tfu" (here, only twice), which some say that Hebrew-speakers borrowed from Russian. An alternate operatic good luck charm, originating from
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, is the phrase "'' in bocca al lupo!''" ("''In the mouth of the wolf''") with the response "''Crepi il lupo!''" ("''May the wolf die''") (see ''Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Myth & Legend''). In Australia, the term "''chookas''" has been used also. According to one oral tradition, one of the company would check audience numbers. If there were not many in the seats, the performers would have bread to eat following the performance. If the theatre was full they could then have "chook" —Australian slang for
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
— for dinner. Therefore, if it was a full house, the performer would call out "Chook it is!", which became abbreviated to "Chookas!" It is now used by performers prior to a show regardless of the number of patrons; and may be a wish for a successful turnout. In Russian, a similar tradition existed for hunters, with one being told "" ( romanized: ''Ni pukha, ni pera'', "Neither fur nor feather") before the hunt, with the reply being "" ( romanized: ''K chiortu'', "Go to hell"). Today, this exchange is customary for students before an exam.Ни пуха ни пера
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In popular culture

The 2001 Broadway musical comedy '' The Producers'' features a song titled "It's Bad Luck To Say 'Good Luck' On Opening Night," in which the novice producer Leo Bloom is instructed that the proper way to wish someone good luck on Broadway is to say "Break a leg." Moments later, the show's star is seen to break his leg—preventing him from performing—and in a later scene he breaks his other leg. The number also appears in the 2005
film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...
of the musical.


See also

*
Knocking on wood Knocking on wood (also phrased touching wood) is an apotropaic tradition of literally touching, tapping, or knocking on wood, or merely stating that one is doing or intending to do so, in order to avoid "tempting fate" after making a favorable pre ...
* Spilling water for luck * The Scottish play * Thespis


References

*Macerena, Vintage.(2019).”The theories and origins of nonsense and tomfoolery in the modern age”. Journal of Cultural Reference. Pg 134-136.


External links


Break a Leg - Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms
(With many explanations as to the origins of the term)
Break a Leg, and Other Good Wishes
by Matthew Alice, in the
San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With ...
.
Break a Leg
by Gary Martin, phrases.org.uk, 1996 - 2006.
Resource on Ortaoyunu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Break A Leg Theatre Stage terminology Superstitions English-language idioms