touching wood
Averting bad luck
Touching wood is a superstitious gesture meant to ward off bad luck or prevent jinxing oneself after making a hopeful statement.
The speaker taps or touches something wooden while saying touch wood or knock on wood: I haven't been sick all year—touching wood.
The practice supposedly invokes protective spirits believed to dwell in trees.
Strike-produced sound
- jinxCurse bringing misfortune
- curseInvoked harm through words
- hexMalevolent incantation
- bad luckUnfavorable chance events
omen · tempting fate · warding off · evil eye · crossed fingers · lucky · unlucky · taboo
Unfounded traditional belief
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
pagan · druid · tree spirits · fairies · ancient · ancestral · oral tradition · belief
Wealth or destiny
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- fatePredetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
- serendipityAccidental fortunate discovery
blessing · good fortune · auspicious · hopeful · wishful thinking · optimism · reassurance · hoping
knock
Strike-produced sound
bad luck · omen · tempting fate · warding off · evil eye · crossed fingers · lucky · unlucky · taboo · charm
old wives' tale
Unfounded traditional belief
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
Celtic · pagan · druid · tree spirits · fairies · ancient · ancestral · oral tradition · belief · animism
fortune
Wealth or destiny
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- fatePredetermined course of events
- destinyPredetermined course of events
serendipity · blessing · good fortune · auspicious · hopeful · wishful thinking · optimism · reassurance · hoping · fingers crossed
knock
Strike-produced sound
practice · habit · reflex · instinct · automatic · tradition · observance · repetition · motion · action
- superstitionssuperstition, superstitions, hexes, black cats, broken mirror
- sports superstitionslucky socks, lucky jersey, rally cap, playoff beard, lucky charm
- good luck gesturescrossed fingers, blowing on dice, eyelash wish, dandelion wish, hamsa
touching woodscientific reasoning
Methodical analysis from evidence
rational thinking · skepticism · logical reasoning · empiricism · logical analysis
touching woodfatalism
Doctrine of inevitable outcomes
resignation · que sera sera · determinism · nihilism · stoicism
touch, touched, touches, toucher, untouched, touching, touchingly, wood, woods