break a leg

English

Etymology

Unknown; many unproven and widely debated theories exist. One of the most plausible is that it comes from Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”) through the heavy Ashkenazi Jewish influence in the American theater, via the misinterpretation in German as Hals- und Beinbruch (“neck and leg fracture”). The Yiddish phrase itself comes from Hebrew הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “success and blessing”). Another possible origin was to wish opposite luck on the performer so as not to jinx the statement.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Interjection

break a leg!

1. (idiomatic) Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor.

   Synonym: (opera) toi, toi, toi

   Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a great show!

   I told my friend to break a leg, before she went on stage.

Translations

expression of best wishes to a performer

• Catalan: molta merda! (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 祝你好運／祝你好运 (zhù nǐ hǎoyùn)

• Czech: zlom vaz! (cs)
• Danish: knæk og bræk!, pøj, pøj!
• Dutch: zet hem op, ... ze! (preceded by an imperative), e.g. speel ze, toi toi toi!
• Estonian: kivi kotti!
• Finnish: tsemppaa! (fi), tsemppiä! (fi)
• French: je te dis merde !, merde ! (fr), bonne merde
• German: Hals- und Beinbruch! (de), Mast- und Schotbruch! (de)
• Hebrew: הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה! (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá!)
• Hungarian: kéz- és lábtörést!
• Italian: in bocca al lupo! (it), (vulgar) in culo alla balena!
• Norwegian Nynorsk: skitfiske, skitjakt
• Polish: połamania nóg! (pl), powodzenia! (pl)
• Portuguese: dê o seu melhor!, muita merda!
• Russian: ни пу́ха ни пера́ (ru) (ni púxa ni perá), ни хвоста ни чешуи (ni xvosta ni češui)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ни длаке ни пера!

  Roman: ni dlake ni pera!

• Spanish: ¡mucha mierda!, ¡mucha miola/miércale/porra! (bowdlerized)
• Swedish: kör hårt! (sv)
• Turkish: iyi şanslar!, şeytanın bacağını kırmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: ні пу́ху ні пера́! (ni púxu ni perá!), ні пір'я ні луски (ni pirʺja ni lusky)
• Yiddish: הצלחה און ברכה! (hatslokhe un brokhe!)

Further reading

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Break a leg”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
• Gary Martin (1997–) “Break-a-leg”, in The Phrase Finder.
• break a leg on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Break A Leg - English Idiom