Break A Leg

Hi Everybody,

Does anyone know where or how this idiom comes from?

Appreciate your answers,
Nurit from Israel.

Break a leg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thank you.

it is said to an actor as a good luck token before going on the stage

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mohammadhelmi

it is said to an actor as a good luck token before going on the stage

---

That's true but that doesn't explain where the phrase comes from. The wiki link does.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mohammadhelmi

it is said to an actor as a good luck token before going on the stage

---

I've been told the same example in my degree :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psiconaut

I've been told the same example in my degree :)

---

It is said to someone about to go on stage in order to wish them good luck. The Wiki link which was posted gives the reasoning behind it.

I wonder if it would be appropriate to say "break a leg" to a surgeon who is about to perform a complicated hip operation.

TomUK

Or to a hitman heading out to a kill.

This phrase dates back to the 1920's and is superstition against wishing an actor good luck. Many people think the origin comes from when in 1865 John Wilkes Booth, who was an actor, broke his leg while leaping to kill President Linoln during a play at the Ford's Theatre. But, this does not really seem like it is related to good luck. Some stage actors think it has to do with bending your knee when you bow, like at the end of a successful play.