Break a leg 3301146 224035471 2008-07-07T00:56:40Z Moonreader 7178079 Deleted a paragraph written in the first person which contained no information. "'''Break a leg'''" is a well-known saying in [[theatre]] which means "[[Luck|good luck]]". It is typically said to [[actor]]s before they go out onto stage to perform. The expression reflects a [[theatrical superstitions|theatrical superstition]] in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use. == Origins == There are several hypotheses about the origin of the expression, none of which have been proven. All are heavily debated. The theories listed below are some of the more popular explanations. The earliest known example in print refers to the title of a play from 1957. Naturally, the saying is much older for it to have been borrowed for a title and there is anecdotal evidence from theatrical memoirs and personal letters as early as the 1920s. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bre1.htm|title=Break a Leg|publisher=World Wide Words|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref><ref name="ISC">{{cite web|url=http://www.idiomsite.com/breakaleg.htm|title=Break a Leg|publisher=idiomsite.com|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref> ===Traditional theory=== In the [[United Kingdom]], the most common idea about the origin of the expression comes from tradition. Historians know from the time of King [[James I of England|James I]] and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s [[King's Men (playing company)|King's Men]] that actors would, on occasion, receive tips on top of their salaries. Rather than receiving tips directly from the company or theatre, tipping was left to the audience. During the final bows or curtain call, audiences would throw money, usually coins, onto the stage depending on how well they enjoyed the performance. In some bad performances they would throw rotten vegetables, but in the good cases, money. Actors would then 'take a knee', effectively breaking their leg line, on stage and pick up the money. As a result, when a person wishes someone to 'break a leg' it refers to wishing them success in their performance so in the end they would have to kneel down and collect a welcoming tip. Theatre evolved and the tradition of tipping changed to one of throwing flowers on stage, as well as presenting flowers. ===Antonym theory=== [[Bone fracture|Breaking]] one's [[leg]] is not a good thing to hope for - therefore - by some superstition - if "good luck" causes bad luck, then the perceived bad luck of breaking one's leg causes good. ===Bowing=== This theory is thought to be an extension of the Traditional Theory. For the curtain call, when actors bow or curtsy, they place one foot behind the other and bend at the knee, 'breaking' the line of the leg. In theatre, pleased audiences may applaud in which time encore bows sometimes occur. On [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] this is considered the highest compliment to an actor. In wishing someone to 'break a leg' you are ultimately wishing them to bow many times effectively causing them to break their leg line. A continuation of this theory is a joke where you wish someone to bow too many times that they 'break a leg'. ===Greek origin=== In the time of [[Ancient Greece]], people didn’t applaud. Instead, they stomped for their appreciation and if they stomped long enough, they would break a leg. Or, some would have it that the term originated during Elizabethan times when, instead of applause the audience would stomp their chairs – and if they liked it enough, the leg of the chair would break. <ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.steppenwolf.org/backstage/article.aspx?id=23 | title=Theatre Superstitions | publisher=Steppenwolf Theatre Company | |accessdate=2006-11-07}}</ref> ===Roman origin=== In the time of [[Ancient Rome]], [[gladiator]]s would fight to the death as a form of popular entertainment in the [[colosseum]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/gladiator.htm|title=Roman gladiators; roman history, roman civilization|publisher=Bates College|accessdate=2006-12-24}}</ref>. Spectators would sometimes shout "quasso cruris", the Latin equivalent of "break a leg". This essentially would be wishing them "good luck" by requesting they keep their lives and only cripple the other opponent by breaking his leg. ===German origin=== A translation from the [[German language|German]] phrase "Hals- und Beinbruch" ("neck and leg fracture"), which comes from the [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] phrase "Hatsloche un Broche" (הצלחה און ברכה) ("success and blessing").<ref>Mark Israel, 'Phrase Origins: "Break a leg!"', [http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifbreakaleg.shtml The alt.usage.english FAQ file],(line 4544), (29 Sept 1997)</ref> The phrase has also been adopted from German into [[Polish language]] as ''połamania nóg'', "breaking of legs", with the word ''połamanie'', meaning fracturing, ''połamania'' being the genitive case. In Polish, ''życzyć'', "to wish", governs the genitive case, thus the underlying structure is ''życzę ci połamania nóg'', roughly translated as "I wish you a fracture of the legs". Both in German and Polish, the phrase is most typically used to wish a student good luck before an exam. ===Turkish origin=== The [[Turkish language|Turkish]] version of the phrase, "[[Shaitan|Şeytan]]'ın Bacağını Kır(mak)", literally translated as "(to) Break the [[Devil]]'s Leg", is typically applied to situations where someone achieves something they had been failing at previously, i.e. "He has finally broken the Devil's leg". This ties in to the theory of avoiding bad luck by crippling the source of misfortune itself, and has been used for centuries by regular folk and public performers such as [[ortaoyunu]] artists alike. It has found a renewed use in modern Theater, where actors about to go on stage are wished good luck by being told to "break the Devils' leg". ===Lincoln theory=== Popular etymology derives the phrase from the [[Abraham Lincoln assassination|1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln]]. [[John Wilkes Booth]], the actor turned assassin, leapt to the stage of [[Ford's Theatre]] after murdering the President. <ref> {{cite web | url=http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/morebreakaleg.html | title=Break a Leg | publisher=Dave Wilton | |accessdate=2006-11-07 }}</ref>. In his diary he claims he broke his leg while jumping onto the stage. While Booth's roles as an actor are not well remembered, wishing an actor to "break a leg" is to wish them a performance worthy of remembrance. However, the fact that actors did not start wishing each other to 'break a leg' until the 1920s (more than 50 years later) makes this an unlikely source. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/28/messages/867.html|title=Re: Break a Leg|publisher=Phrases.org|accessdate=2007-04-24}}</ref><ref name="ISC" /> Also, some historians contend that he broke his leg when he fell from his horse trying to escape. They also cite that Booth often exaggerated and falsified his diary entries to make them more dramatic.<ref>{{cite book | last = Kauffman | first = Michael W. | title = John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies | publisher = American Brutus | year = 2004 | isbn = 0-375-75974-3 }}</ref> ===Non-Literal=== There are many non-literal references this expression could be referring to. * In traditional curtains, the legs of the curtain were constructed from long wooden rods. In the case of many encores, curtains would be lifted and dropped numerous times causing them to 'break'. *Another popular alternative theory concerning the physical "legs", or side curtains, of the theatre proposes that the company of actors should rush onstage through the curtains to take a considerable amount of bows, thus "breaking a leg (side curtain)" in the process. * The term 'break a leg' may be an abbreviation for the phrase 'break a legend' which roughly means 'go get yourself out there' or related to meaning 'break' (example ''this is your big break''). * The term 'break a leg' may also be related to the members of a play / performance since they are known as the 'cast'. ===Peasant theory=== A very whimsical theory is the Groundling or Peasant Theory. In the times of Shakespeare, theatres such as the [[Globe Theatre]] were open-air [[Amphitheatre|amphitheaters]]. People who could afford it sat in the covered balcony seats while those unable to afford the balcony seating prices had to crowd the front of the theatre in the open. Mockingly, these audience members were referred to as Groundlings (today's "[[nosebleed section]]" audience status). Transfixed by well done performances the 'Groundlings' would drool. Actors would wish each other good luck by saying, "may you give such a stirring performance that you fall on the ensuing spot of the drooling Groundlings, and break a leg". {{Fact|date=February 2007}} ===Richard III theory=== Some attribute the line to a performance of Shakespeare's [[Richard III (play)|Richard III]], where the famed 18th century [[British people|British]] actor, [[David Garrick]], became so entranced in the performance that he was unaware of a fracture.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.r3.org/bookcase/cibber.html |title= Richard III as rewritten by Colley Cibber |accessdate= 2008-04-11 |author= Tom Dale Keever |date= 1995-12-18 |work= Primary Texts and Secondary Sources On-line |publisher= Richard III Society — American Branch}}</ref> == Alternate terms == In some areas, the phrase "break a leg" itself has fallen into bad superstitious repute. In [[Australia]], the term "chookas" can be used instead, and in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], "fall down backwards" may also be used. The origins of these terms are as unknown to us as is the origin of "break a leg". ==See also== * [[Macbeth]] / [[The Scottish play]] * [[Thespis]] ==References== {{reflist}} :* <small>Bevington, David. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Fifth Edition. United States: Longman; 5 edition, 2003</small> </div> == External links == *[http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/morebreakaleg.html Break a Leg - Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms] (With many explanations as to the origins of the term) *[http://ask.yahoo.com/20050426.html Ask Yahoo - "Where did the expression "break a leg" come from?"] *[http://www.sdreader.com/php/ma_show.php?id=1000 Break a Leg, and Other Good Wishes], by Matthew Alice, in the [[San Diego Reader]]. *[http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/break-a-leg.html Break a Leg] by Gary Martin, phrases.org.uk, 1996 - 2006. *[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-433298/ortaoyunu Resource on Ortaoyunu] [[Category:Theatre]] [[Category:Stage terminology]] [[de:Hals- und Beinbruch]] [[fr:Merde]] [[it:In bocca al lupo]]