Landing a role in show business is called “getting a break” and being newly successful is called “breaking into the business”. (Some also present this as a possibly origin of the popular phrase comedians and comics use for a successful show: “I killed them.” / “I killed the audience.”) After Booth shot the President, he jumped from Lincoln’s upper box seat onto the stage, where he literally “broke his leg”. This theory traces the term to the great 19th century actor, John Wilkes Booth, who, of course, shot President Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in 1865. Stomping to the point of actually breaking a leg is unlikely- but still, the phrase may be figurative and not literal.Īn interesting historical theory attributes “break a leg” to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Instead of applauding actors, audiences would stomp their feet. Others trace “break a leg” to the tradition of audiences in Ancient Greece. However, in the 16th century “break a leg” also meant to give birth to an illegitimate child, which is hard to connect to the theatrical world. Since a successful actor would “break a leg” onstage and receive applause, the phrase would, in effect, be a wish for good luck. To “break a leg”, in Shakespeare’s time, meant, literally, to bow- by bending at the knee. The term “break a leg” may be traced back to the Elizabethan language. It is possible actors adopted this phrase, as it was just after WWI that the “break a leg” sentiment seems to have gained widespread popularity. Both English and German pilots use the term, but the literal translation is “breaking all one’s bones”. The sentiment here is “Happy landings” in English. Thus, they say it hoping the principal actors will break their leg so the understudies can possibly take the lead.Īnother possible construction is the German phrase “Hals und beinbruch”. In an Octoedition of the New Statesman, Robert Wilson Lynd is talking about it being unlucky in horse racing to wish someone luck so “you should say something insulting such as, ‘May you break your leg!” He also mentions that theater people are the second most superstitious group next to those involved in horse racing.Īnother of the early documented references of “break a leg”, this time directly referring to theater, was in the 1939 A Peculiar Treasure by Edna Ferber, where she implies a different motive, “…and all the understudies sitting in the back row politely wishing the various principals would break a leg”. This is in line with the first documented instance of someone saying “break a leg” in terms of wishing them luck. Thus, “break a leg”, by this logic, would be a wish for good luck. So “good luck” would actually cause bad luck for the actor. According to this theory, wishing someone “good luck” would be invoking the “evil eye”. The term “break a leg” was used originally, many say, to discourage evil spirits from deliberately causing one’s performance to suffer. Like many popular sayings and terms, the origin of “break a leg” is nebulous and disputed. But I’m sure you’re more interested in the origin of “break a leg”. (I have never heard it used before filming a movie on any of the movies I’ve been involved with, but I guess it can be used in that sense too). The term, of course, means “do well” or “have a great show” and is typically used before a stage performance, a show, or an audition. John asks: Why do people tell actors to “break a leg” before a performance?
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