Here's an interesting bit of trivia that had me and my friends
stumped: I have heard that it is "bad luck" to wish anyone "good luck"
in show business, but I have always been curious as to how that
superstition originate, as well as the phrase "...go break a leg.".
How did that phrase originate?

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Clarification of Question by dho1115-ga on 12 Feb 2006 20:53 PST

P.S.: Any truth to this superstition? :-)

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 12 Feb 2006 21:18 PST

Sometimes the best answer to a question is "this can't really be answered."

The origin of the "break a leg" theatrical tradition is uncertain.
You'll find some interesting info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbreakleg.html

http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/morebreakaleg.html

Regarding the matter of whether there is any truth to the
superstition, I truly doubt that this is answerable. How could such a
thing be proven? It is undoubtedly true that there have been instances
in which someone said "good luck" and disaster followed, but
determining causation in such a case isn't humanly possible. Surely
there have been cases in which someone said "good luck" and everything
turned out fine. And I know of one true case (an amateur theatrical
production) in which the wish to "break a leg" came true: an actress
really did break her leg. Well, her ankle, anyway. I know this because
the actress in question was me! I was able to perform my role anyway,
in a walking cast. We all had a good laugh over the "break a leg"
thing.

I'll be glad to gather more material on the purported origins of the
"break a leg" tradition, but I sincerely doubt that a real,
indisputable answer can be found. And, as mentioned above, there
probably isn't any reliable way to prove or disprove the superstition.
How would you like to proceed?

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Clarification of Question by dho1115-ga on 13 Feb 2006 11:26 PST

Actually, I know that alot of superstitions have some kind of origin
(e.g.: Cat having nine lives stems from the fact that cats are so
agile and I believe it was the egyptians who worshipped them as gods),
but the information you gave me helped answer my question. Thanks.

Hello again, David!

Since you have mentioned in a comment that the material I posted
provided an answer to your question, I'm reposting the links (with
links to some additional articles) as your official answer.

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg

The Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbreakleg.html

TheatreCrafts
http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/morebreakaleg.html

Linguist List
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0101d&L=ads-l&D=1&P=9671

Ask Yahoo!
http://ask.yahoo.com/20050426.html

World Wide Words
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bre1.htm

Tracking down the exact origins of folklore can be a twisty path;
speculation abounds, but certainty is often impossible. Of all the
explanations of "break a leg" that I have seen, the one that seems to
me most likely is that it is descended from the German saying "Hals
und Beinbruch" ("neck and leg break"), in the tradition of reverse
psychology which, by asking for the opposite of what one really wants,
avoids tempting fate (or tempting the devil).

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: theater OR theatre OR theatrical "break a leg" luck
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=theater+OR+theatre+OR+theatrical+%22break+a+leg%22+luck

I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.

Very best regards,
pinkfreud

It is not just a theater tradition or English-speaking tradition not
to wish someone good luck.  In German the equivalent to "break a leg"
for sailors is "Mast- und Schotenbruch!"  (May your mast and sheets
break).  It is also considered inauspicious to thank someone when they
wish "Toi, toi, toi!" before any kind of endeavor.  Similarly, one
nevers congratulates someone prior to their birthday, definitely on
the assumption that it (evil forces?) could preclude their actually
reaching it.

Other cultures also have the superstition that if one mentions
something before it occurs, the dark forces would learn of it and try
to upset it.  Thus, perhaps, it is better to wish bad luck in the hope
that the opposite occurs.

Dho1115-ga,
Are you suggesting that Pinkfreud-ga should post her request for
clarification as an "answer"?

Actually, I was wondering about how the superstition of wishing
someone "good luck" is actually "bad luck", and specifically how the
phrase "...go break a leg" originate, and pinkfreud-ga gave me several
links with possible origins, including one,
http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/pages/morebreakaleg.html, that
had several origins, and that pretty much answered my question.

How do I pay for my answer? Is there a "submit payment" button?

David Ho

Okay!  Here's the real answer to "break a leg."  In the Shakespearian
era the term "brake a leg" meant that you were hoping the actor's
performance was worthy of a bow which was then called "breaking ones
leg."  It described bowing at the knee thus beaking the straight line
of the full length of the leg.  This tradition has been passed down
from generation to generation with the added embellishment of making
the wishing of "good luck" bad.

Now, why dancers wish each other "merde" before going on stage is a
whole other story. I don't know the answer to that one.

Many thanks for the five stars and the nice tip!

~pinkfreud