One explanation of how this could have happened is that German-speaking Jewish immigrants arrived after World War I and entered the American entertainment industry. The theory about the German phrase deriving from a Yiddish phrase suggests that it was first used in German aviation and then transferred to German society at large.Īs early as the 1920s, it is thought that the expression became a part of British and American theater. In order to wish someone good luck without actually doing so, this ironically opposite seeming phrase is employed. Some believe that wishing someone good luck by saying 'break a leg' comes from a superstitious belief that it is bad luck to wish someone good luck. "You should say something insulting such as, 'May you break your leg!'" In this piece, he says that actually wishing a man good luck before a horse race is considered bad luck.In "A Defence of Superstion" from 1921, Robert Wilson Lynd claims that the theater industry was second only to horse racing when it comes to superstitious English institutions. Superstition TheoryĪnother theory is that the expression reflects a now-forgotten superstition. The phrase in German still means 'good luck' in a way that isn't only in reference to the entertainment industry. It is said that Luftwaffe pilots would use the German phrase as a way to wish luck to one another. The German phrase actually comes from a Yiddish phrase- hatsloche un broche- which literally means 'success and blessing.' The German version is a pun based on the sound of the Yiddish phrase. This phrase- Hals- und Beinbruch- translates literally to "neck and leg (bone) break." Originating as a superstitious practiceĮtymologists and other scholars largely believe that the phrase came from a loan translation of a German phrase.
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