"Break a leg" is a well-known idiom in theatre which means "good luck." It is typically said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform. The origin of the phrase is obscure.
The expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg", but "merde".
Read more about Break A Leg: Origins, Alternate Terms
Famous quotes containing the words break a, break and/or leg:
“Here love’s damp muscle dries and dies,
Here break a kiss in no love’s quarry.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“I’m an empress.
I wear an apron.
My typewriter writes.
It didn’t break the way it warned.
Even crazy, I’m as nice
as a chocolate bar.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“It is principally for the sake of the leg that a change in the dress of man is so much to be desired.... The leg is the best part of the figure ... and the best leg is the man’s.... Man should no longer disguise the long lines, the strong forms, in those lengths of piping or tubing that are of all garments the most stupid.”
—Alice Meynell (1847–1922)