Winning the lottery is about luck, but you have to play to win. Similarly, at the ballet, and later extended to all dance forms, dancers wish each other merde in french. Its mainly used as a theatrical superstition in which wishing an actor or musician good luck is considered bad luck. Never say good luck, say break a leg there are many theories on the origins of break a leg, including, simply, that it was another way to say take a bow. Courage can also mean heart, as in perdre courage or to lose heart.
It is typically said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform. Good luck generally, it is considered bad luck to wish someone good luck in a theatre. Break a leg outside theatre english only forum break a leg. The great thing about it is that its very easy for english speakers to understand as it literally means good luck bonne good, chance luck. If you know any actors or theater fans, you probably know that its considered bad luck to say. Theres nothing wrong with the phrase good luck, but its a scratched term. Good luck to everyone that is starting this morning or this week. With reverso you can find the english translation, definition or synonym for good luck, break a leg and thousands of other words. Since a successful actor would break a leg onstage and receive applause, the phrase would, in effect, be a wish for good luck. English only forum break a leg or an arm english only forum break a leg, break the nose articles usage english only forum break a leg. Break a leg is a typical english idiom used in theatre to wish a performer good luck. The etymology of break a leg is disputed, but some theories hold up better than others. Henrik, when people say break a leg, its because of a kind of old superstition that saying good luck would actually bring bad luck, and on the opposite saying something negative like break a leg would bring good luck.
You can offer the phrase in bocca al lupo, which is akin to the english break a leg. You can complete the list of synonyms of good luck, break a leg given by the english thesaurus dictionary with other english dictionaries. A term similar to break a leg, used in the world of drag queens, meaning good luck. Use this group to motivate, share tips recipes and much more we have some many amazing results already within our little team. Good luck good luck quotes, good luck wishes, luck quotes. To break a leg, in shakespeares time, meant, literally, to bow by bending at the knee. What you tell someone about to perform in a drama or musical performance to wish them well. Break a leg is the usual phrase, while for professional dancers the traditional saying is merde from the french shit.
Prior to performances, it is traditional for the cast to gather together to avert the bad luck by wishing each other bad luck or cursing in englishspeaking countries, the expression break a leg replaces the phrase good luck. Toi toi toi is an expression used in the performing arts to wish an artist success in an imminent performance. The phrase break a leg is a jovial encouragement, said to actors for good luck before they go on stage, especially on an opening night. Download birthday card with sketched presents and balloons for free. I like luck, but luck is a fickle creature that lives underground until it decides to make an appearance. The more successful the show, the bigger the pile hence the expression merdeas an expression of good luck. I want to focus on the good luck context, as, even if its awkward, its an expression you hear all the time. I am making my nutcracker cast gift labels to finish this up for tonight and wanted to put that on the labels. What do you say to a dancer instead of break a leg. Here, you will find more than 100 ways to say good luck. Expressions to wish someone good luck in english aba journal. In everyday french, in a happy context, dire merde a quelquun means to break a leg, to wish someone good luck. Lash is referring to the exaggerated false eyelashes drag queens wear on stage. You dont want to say break a leg or good luck because it is considered bad luck.
According to my french teacher who was a ballet dancer, in days gone by, when members of high society went to see an event in their horse drawn carriages, the horse crap would pile up in front of the theater. The term break a leg appears to come from the belief. This phrase has its origin in the world of theater. Of course if the context is different, it can also means to tell someone to go to hell. It has also been traced back to 1766 when samuel foote, the manager of the londons little theatre, was thrown from his horse and broke his leg. Giphy is how you search, share, discover, and create gifs. In todays episode, we trace the etymology and emergence of the french influenced kinship prefix grand. Break a leg is a wellknown idiom in theatre which means good luck. They believe that mentioning the name of the often illfated play macbeth in the theatre will bring bad luck. Break a lead is rumored to stem from the ancient practice of breaking a piece of lead into a small chard suitable for writing. In various live art forms, performers think its bad luck when you wish them good luck. In todays episode, we trace the etymology and emergence of the frenchinfluenced kinship prefix grand. How do you spell the phrase for good luck in dance.
Just as break a leg, its what you say to people to wish them luck without jinxing them by saying good luck. Do you have a friend you want to wish good luck for some reason or another. Roam around and spread some luck to everyone in the world. Break a leg is based on the leg line, an area in the wings that was marked so actors would know when the audience could see them. Wikipedia, lexilogos, oxford, cambridge, chambers harrap, wordreference, collins lexibase dictionaries, merriam webster.
They also believe that wishing someone good luck just before a performance also guarantees that. Know your english meaning and origin of break a leg. Theatrical types are well known for their belief in superstitions, or at least for their willingness to make a show of pretending to believe in them. There are many anecdotes and theories as to how this tradition began, yet the sentiment remains the same. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable pdf that. What do you say to a dancer instead of break a leg answers. Find out four phrases you can use to wish someone good luck in italian. Good luck in french and the curse of the upsidedown baguette. The term is to break a leg which is offered to an actor. Wikipedia, lexilogos, larousse dictionary, le robert, oxford, grevisse. Break a leg definition and meaning collins english. An ironic or nonliteral saying of uncertain origin a dead metaphor, break a leg is commonly said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform, likely first used in this context in the united states in the 1920s or 1930s, probably without specifically theatrical associations at first. The term break a leg may be traced back to the elizabethan language. Performers had a superstition that saying good luck would actually bring them bad luck, so break a leg was used instead.
Here are some possible reasons behind how the phrase break a leg came about. This theatre saying is used today to wish theatre performers good luck without actually saying that unlucky phrase. Oh, and the other person shouldnt reply thank you, otherwise its bad luck. Discover how to say good luck and talk about good and bad luck in french.
Good luck to our competition team, as they head out to. Break a leg good luck card template you can print or send online as ecard for free. Break a leg definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Search good luck, break a leg and thousands of other words in english definition and synonym dictionary from reverso. We chose a more appropriate sentiment from the french, bon courage, which literally means good courage or have courage, and is used to mean good luck. In the theater, you should never wish an actor good. It is a theatre superstition that the phrase good luck is actually bad, so break a leg is preferred in this situation. You can complete the translation of good luck, break a leg given by the english french collins dictionary with other dictionaries such as. It is similar to break a leg and reflects a superstition that wishing someone good luck.
Learn more in the cambridge englishchinese traditional dictionary. Similar to dancers telling other dancers merde before a performance merde is french fo. Translation for break a l eg in the free english french dictionary and many other french translations. English only forum to break a leg english only forum with. No, thats considered hexing even more than saying good luck. Any performer who crossed the leg line and appeared in front of the. The same idea exists in french except instead of telling someone to break a leg you say merde. Personalize with your own message, photos and stickers. So good luck would actually cause bad luck for the actor. Vous le trouverez dans une ou plusieurs des lignes cidessous. Break a leg is a wellknown saying in theatre which means good luck.
The same idea exists in french except instead of telling someone to break a leg. You will also learn about french superstitions such as the upsidedown baguette. Picking up common french expressions are a great way to learn more about the personality. Its the equivalent of the spanish buena suerte and the french bonne chance. Thus, break a leg, by this logic, would be a wish for good luck. Be careful when saying good luck to a performing artist.