" Breaking feet " is an idiom in the theater used to say the player's "luck" in an ironic way. Investigators usually say "Break legs" to actors and musicians before they perform on stage. The origin of this phrase remains unclear.
The phrase reflects the theatrical superstition in which wishing one's "good fortune" is considered bad luck. This phrase is sometimes used outside the theater because of superstitions and habits of traveling through other professions and then into common usage. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break legs," but "merde ".
Video Break a leg
Origins
The Irish nationalist journalist Robert Wilson Lynd published an article, "Defense of Superstition", in the October 1, 1921 issue of the New Statesman, the British liberal political and cultural magazine. Lynd considers the theater as the second superstitious institution in England, after the horse race. In horse racing, Lynd insists, to expect a man's luck is considered unlucky, so "you have to say something insulting like, 'May you break your legs! ' " Lynd does not associate that phrase in the way to theater people, although he is familiar with many of them and often mingle with the actors backstage.
The earliest known example in print is from Edna Ferber in 1939 A Peculiar Treasure where he writes about the attractiveness of the theater, "... and all the students sitting in the back row politely look to the heads school will break legs ". In Bernard Sobel 1948 The Theater Handbook and the Digest of Plays , he wrote about theatrical superstition: "... before a performing actor never wished for each other's luck, but said 'I hope you broke your leg. ' "There is anecdotal evidence of theatrical memoirs and personal letters as early as the 1920s.
There are several theories behind the origin of the phrase. Few are supported by contemporary writings. The theories listed below are some of the more popular explanations.
Legs
The end of the stage is marked by a line known as "foot" or "foot line". Beyond this point, a person can be seen by the audience and those who are not required to be on stage must keep returning to the stage and not cross the "foot line". At the moment the players will be queuing for the opportunity to do and only get paid if they do, to "break the legs" means the player is crossing the line onto the stage and therefore will be paid. So to tell a player to "break legs" is to wish them luck to have the opportunity to perform and be paid. The sentiment remains the same today, "good luck, give it a good performance".
Bowing
To "break legs" is an ancient slang for bending or bending; placing one foot behind the other and bending over the "rest" leg of the foot line. In the theater, the excited audience can clap for a long time allowing the performers to take several curtain calls, bending over to the audience.
Associated with this, some argue the mechanism for raising and lowering the curtains is controlled by the crank arm 'legs'. Therefore for a popular player, an advanced curtain call may cause the crank arm to break.
Origin Greece
In Ancient Greece, people did not applaud. Instead, they step on their appreciation and if they step on long enough, they will break legs. Or, some would say that the term came from Elizabethan times when, instead of the audience's applause it would bang on their chairs on the ground - and if they liked enough, the leg of the chair would break.
The origin of Germany and Yiddish
Some etymologists believe it is an adaptation of the Yiddish translation into German. The phrase "Hatsloche un Broche" ("success and blessing") has been extracted from the German phrase "Hals-und Beinbruch" ("broken neck and leg"), because of its similar pronunciation. Manfred von Richthofen's autobiography recorded a German air force pilot during the First World War using the phrase "Hals-und Beinbruch" (broken neck and foot) to expect each other's luck before the flight. This phrase is now commonly used to wish the successful actor before the show, or the luck of the student before the exam. Lincoln Lincoln
Theory
One popular etymology, but incorrectly, takes the phrase of the assassination of 1865 Abraham Lincoln. According to the story, John Wilkes Booth, the actor who became a hit man, declared in his diary that he broke his leg that jumped onto the Ford Theater stage after killing the President. While Booth's role as an actor is not well remembered, hoping an actor to "break his legs" is to wish them a memorable performance. However, the fact that the actors did not start wishing each other to "break legs" until 1920 (more than 50 years later) made this an impossible source. In addition, the phrase has different origins in other better languages ​​before the end of the nineteenth century. Also, some historians argue that he broke his leg when he fell from his horse trying to escape. They also quote that Booth often exaggerates and falsify his diary to make it more dramatic.
Non-literal
There are many non-literal references that this phrase can refer to.
- Another popular alternative theory of physical "legs", or side curtains, of the theater suggests that the actor company must hurry up on stage through a curtain to take a large number of arcs, thus "breaking the leg (side curtain)" in the process.
- To raise your legs, and capture your big luck.
Cast Theory
From the double meaning of cast, where it could mean the mold used to support the broken leg, as well as members of the theater production. "Hope you get into players." Theory
Richard III
Some attribute of the line to the performance of Shakespeare's Richard III , in which the famous 18th-century English actor, David Garrick, became so fascinated in the performance that he was unaware of the fracture.
theory of Vaudeville
In the days of Vaudeville, the company will order more players than it might make on stage, but only pay those who perform. Since the Renaissance, the footstool curtains have been used as part of the cover at the proscenium theater, which remains the most popular theater style to this day. So, to make it on stage, one must enter the audience's line of sight or "break legs", must be paid.
Maps Break a leg
Alternate terms
Professional dancers do not wish each other good luck by saying "break legs"; instead they say " Merde! ", the French word for "dirt". In turn, theater people have taken this use and may wish each other "merde ", alone or in combination with "break legs". In Spain, the phrase is " mucha mierda ", or "lots of dirt". This term refers to the time when the carriage will bring the audience to the theater. A quick view of the road in front of the place will show whether the game works: a lot of horse shit means many trains stop to leave the audience.
The opera singer uses "Toi toi toi ", a phrase used to ward off spells or hexes, often accompanied by bumping wood, and onomatopoeic, spitting (or imitating spit). Saliva traditionally has the power of casting out demons. From Rotwelsch tof , from Yiddish tov ("good", comes from Hebrew ??? and with phonetic equations with the Old German word for "Satan.") One explanation see "toi toi toi" as rendition of onomatopoeic spit three times. Spitting three times over a person's head or shoulder is a signal to cast out an evil spirit. A similar phrase for verbal spitting occurs in modern Hebrew as "Tfu, tfu" (here, only twice), some saying that Hebrew speakers borrow from Russian.
The alternative operatic lucky charm, originally from Italy, is the phrase " in bocca al lupo!" (" in the wolf's mouth ") with the response " Crepi il lupo! "(" May the wolf die ") (see Folklore Standard Dictionary, Myth & Legend ).
In Australia, the term " chookas " has been used as well. According to one oral tradition, one player will check the audience number. If not many in the chair, the players will have bread to eat after the show. If the theater is full then they can have "chooks" - Australian slang for chicken - for dinner. Therefore, if it is a full house, players will call "Chookas!" Now used by players before the show regardless of the number of customers; and may be a hope for successful success.
See also
- Scottish Games
- Thespis
- Knock wood
- Water spills for luck
References
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- Bevington, David. Shakespeare's Complete Works, Fifth Edition. United States: Longman; 5 editions, 2003
External links
- Separate Leg - The Theater Technical Glossary (With much explanation of the origin of the term)
- Destroy Feet, and Other Good Hope, by Matthew Alice, in San Diego Reader.
- Break a Leg by Gary Martin, phrases.org.uk, 1996 - 2006.
- References about Ortaoyunu
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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