"With all the break-a-leg dancing there are many who still warm to graceful soft shoe stepping." Or break a leg trying."įrom the Evening State Journal, Nebraska, 1937: "Whatever the army or navy want, the Continental Roll will turn out. For example, from The Hammond Times, Indiana, 1942: There are many references to the phrase used that way, which pre-date the earliest theatrical good luck charm meaning. 'Break a leg' also means, 'make a strenuous effort'. That is, unstraighten the leg by bending at the knee, by bowing or curtseying. The most common interpretation of 'break' in this context is, 'to deviate from a straight line', as in the cricketing term, 'off break'. That gives considerable scope for speculation over what is meant by the phrase. The word 'break' has many meanings - the OED lists 57 distinct uses of it as a verb alone. Other superstitions are that it is bad luck to whistle in a theatre, to say the final line of a play during dress rehearsal, or to say the name of 'the Scottish Play' in a theatre's green room. By wishing someone bad luck, it is supposed that the opposite will occur. The term 'break a leg' appears to come from the belief that one ought not to utter the words 'good luck' to an actor. Theatrical types are well-known for their belief in superstitions, or at least for their willingness to make a show of pretending to believe them. Said to actors for good luck before they go on stage, especially on an opening nights.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |