break a leg
Backstage good wishes
Break a leg is a theatrical good-luck wish, traditionally said to performers before they go onstage.
The phrase inverts the expected sentiment—wishing someone harm rather than success—perhaps from superstition that direct good wishes invite bad luck.
It has spread beyond theater to any situation where someone faces a challenge: Break a leg on your interview tomorrow.
- actorsThose playing roles
- jinxCurse bringing misfortune
- performingExecuting an action
- opening nightFirst staged performance
- first nightDebut public performance
theater · superstition · stage · stage fright · idiom · dramaturgy · encouragement · curtain call · take a bow · audition · theatrical tradition · luck · hex · dressing room · rehearsal · cast · understudy · applause
- breakbreakaway, breakout, breakthrough, breakup, jailbreak
- encouragementencourage, encouraging, praises, hang in there, supports
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, barking up the wrong tree
- well-wishesgood luck, best wishes, take care, wishing you well, warm regards
- show ritualswarm-up, vocal exercises, stretching, mic check, curtain call
- theater superstitionsScottish play, peacock feathers
break a legdrop dead
Exclamation of hostile dismissal
go to hell · eat dirt · crash and burn · damn you · rot in hell
break a leggood luck
Favorable chance or fortune
best of luck · fingers crossed · all the best · you've got this · knock on wood
break, broken, brake, breaking, breach, breakdown, daybreak, outbreak, breakable