Ever Wonder Why People Tell You to ‘Break a Leg?’

The surprising origins of common sayings

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Don’t rub me up the wrong way by turning a blind eye because you would be caught red-handed barking up the wrong tree. If the cat’s got your tongue after reading this, I’ll give you the cold shoulder. So, go the whole nine yards and butter me up.

I’ve heard, “break a leg” many times. I’ve even used it myself. I knew it was something to do with the theatre and despite the obvious pain and suffering ‘breaking a leg’ would cause, it translates as, ‘Good luck’.

Surprisingly there are several explanations as to how it came about. The last one is my favourite — I can picture it in my imagination.

Break a leg

1. One of the most common theories is it originated due to performers’ belief that saying “good luck” brought bad luck. So, instead, they’d wish for something bad to happen, like for a performer to “break a leg.” This doesn’t ring true to me, why not ‘break and arm’ or ‘why don’t you die from syphilis’.
2. In the early days of theatre, actors queued to perform. If actors were not performing, they had to stay behind the “leg line,” which also meant they wouldn’t get paid. If you were to tell the actor to “break a leg,” you were wishing them the opportunity to perform…