why do people always say break a leg at the beginning of a performance?

Answer 1

It's a superstition that if you wish someone luck you will jinx them and they will fail. So if you wish them something bad, then something good will really happen.

Answer 2

It does come from theater traditional usually said by the stand ins to the principal players "break a leg" remember if the stand ins were not on stage they did not get paid so basically it is good luck for them but not for the principal actors because the stand ins would then have to take over from the principal actor

Answer 3

Theatrical tradition.

It is supposed to ensure a good performance.

Apart from one unfortunate person that actually did break a leg while on stage. He did recover, and is still acting.

Answer 4

Theatre superstition says that it is bad luck to wish someone good luck before a performance.

Answer 5

You don't need DesireeJ's long-winded dissertation. Informati has hit the nail on the head!

Answer 6

There are several theories for the expression's origins. All are heavily debated. Like many expressions it is almost impossible to fully trace its origins unless there are some sort of identifying markers found in derived Latin expressions. The below are some of the most popular origins for the expression, but cannot be conclusively proven.


[edit] Traditional Theory
In the U.K., the most common idea of origin for the expression comes from tradition. Historians know from the time of King James I and Shakespeare's King's Men that actors would on occasion receive tips on top of their salaries. Rather than receiving tips directly from the company or theatre, tipping was left to the audience. During the final bows or curtain call, audiences would throw money, usually coins, onto the stage depending on how well they enjoyed the performance. In some bad performances they would throw rotten vegetables, but in the good cases, money. Actors would then 'take a knee', effectively breaking their leg line, on stage and pick up the money. As a result when you wish someone to 'break a leg' it refers to wishing them success in their performance so in end they would have to kneel down and collect a welcoming tip. Theatre evolved and the tradition of tipping changed. This tradition led to the tradition of throwing flowers on stage, as well as presenting flowers. The expression continued through theatre as it was still applicable and later became tradition.


[edit] Antonym Theory
Breaking one's leg is not a good thing to hope for - therefore by some superstition, if "good luck" causes bad luck, then the perceived bad luck of breaking one's leg causes good.


[edit] Bowing
This theory is thought to be an extension of the Traditional Theory. For the curtain call, when actors bow or curtsy, they place one foot behind the other and bend at the knee, 'breaking' the line of the leg. In theatre, pleased audiences may applaud in which time encore bows sometimes occur. On Broadway this is considered the highest compliment to an actor. In wishing someone to 'break a leg' you are ultimately wishing them to bow many times effectively causing them to break their leg line. A continuation of this theory is joke where you wish someone to bow too many times that they 'break a leg'.


[edit] Greek Origin
In the time of Ancient Greece, people didn’t applaud. Instead, they stomped for their appreciation and if they stomped long enough, they would break a leg. Or, some would have it that the term originated during Elizabethan times when, instead of applause the audience would stomp their chairs – and if they liked it enough, the leg of the chair would break. [1]


[edit] Roman Origin
In the time of Ancient Rome, gladiators would fight to the death as a form of popular entertainment in the colloseum[2]. Spectators would sometimes shout "quasso cruris", the Latin equivalent of "break a leg". This essentially would be wishing them "good luck" by requesting they keep their lives and only cripple the other opponent by breaking his leg.


[edit] German Origin
A translation from the German phrase "Hals- und Beinbruch" ("neck and leg fracture"), which comes from the Yiddish phrase "Hasloche un Broche" ("success and blessing").[3] The phrase has also been adopted from German into Polish as połamania nóg, "breaking of legs", with the word połamanie, meaning fracturing, połamania being the genitive case. In Polish, życzyć, "to wish", governs the genitive case, thus the underlying structure is życzę ci połamania nóg, roughly translated as "I wish you a fracture of the legs". Both in German and Polish, the phrase is most typically used to wish a student good luck before an exam.


[edit] Lincoln Theory
Popular etymology derives the phrase from the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, the actor turned assassin, leapt to the stage of Ford's Theatre after the murder, breaking his leg in the process [4]. While Booth's roles as an actor are not well remembered, wishing an actor to "break a leg" is to wish them a performance worthy of remembrance. However, there are references to the expression before the 1860's.


[edit] Non-Literal
There are many non-literal references this expression could be referring to.

In traditional curtains, the legs of the curtain were constructed from long wooden rods. In the case of many encores, curtains would be lifted and dropped numerous times causing them to 'break'.
The term 'break a leg' may be an abbreviation for the phrase 'break a legend' which roughly means 'go get yourself out there' or related to meaning 'break' (example this is your big break).

[edit] Peasant Theory
A very whimsical theory is the Groundling or Peasant Theory. In the times of Shakespeare, theatres such as the Globe Theatre were open-air amphitheaters. People who could afford to, sat in the covered balcony seats while those unable to afford the balcony seating prices had crowd the front of the theatre in the open. Mockingly, these audience members were referred to as Groundlings (today's nosebleed audience status). Transfixed by well done performances the 'Groundlings' would drool. Actors would wish each other good luck by saying, "may you give such a stirring performance that you fall on the ensuing spot of the drooling Groundlings, and break a leg". [citation needed]


[edit] Alternate Terms
In some areas, the phrase "break a leg" itself has fallen into bad superstitious repute. In Australia, the term "chookas" can be used instead, and in the UK, "fall down backwards" may also be used. The origins of these terms are as unknown to us as is the origin of "break a leg".


[edit] See also

Answer 7

it's suppose to be because your to put your best foot foward and do it with such effort that you break a leg

Answer 8

myby they dnt lke them like they r in a compo n the person who says it wnts to win

Answer 9

it means gud luck

Answer 10

they say break a leg before you go to perform because its a saying people use. its a nother word for goodluck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!