‘Luck is believing you’re lucky.’ Tenesse Williams
As luck would have it, I’ve always been lucky. In fact, my father reiterated the fact that I was his lucky charm. When I was first time lucky, I thought it was beginner’s luck. But with the passage of time and with my lucky streak continuing, I realized that my success was not the luck of the draw.
I didn’t have to push my luck with most people or things as I had luck on my side. I guess either I am a happy-go-lucky individual or I was born under a lucky star. Therefore, I must thank my lucky stars and wish that I should never run out of luck, for I have seen many lucky ones go down on their luck and thereby lose everything they earned in life.
Those who have been unable to succeed in their first or second attempt must not lose heart. Who knows they might be third time lucky! And what if they are unable to achieve something to their heart’s desire, they should learn to accept pot luck for not every day is a lucky day. However, one thing is certain, no one is born unlucky or with rotten luck.
So much talk about ‘being lucky’ definitely gives me jitters and at times turns me superstitious. I rush to ‘touch wood’ or ‘knock on the wood’ and would preferably ‘keep my fingers crossed’. If you think I’m the only one being superstitious, let me introduce you to the concept of ‘break a leg’- an idiom or phrase commonly used by one and all, that owes its genesis to a superstitious custom prevalent among theatre professionals.
The phrase ‘break a leg’ is usually an informal way to say ‘do your best’ or ‘give it your best shot’ and even ‘good luck’ whenever a performer goes on stage. These days, it has become a platitude and can be heard even in offices when someone has to give a presentation or appear for an interview and of course players can’t be expected not to use it though it sounds a little weird when you think about it, lest the poor athlete actually break his leg while running down the track.
As with other idioms and phrases, the origin of this phrase too, is difficult to trace. However, the most plausible explanation seems to come from ancient Greek. It is believed that the Greek theatrical audience, to applaud a stupendous performance, would either stomp their own legs or bang the legs of their chairs which more often than not resulted in breaking of the chair’s leg. Therefore, before a performer went on the stage, the backstage crew wished that he would give a ‘leg-breaking’ performance and wished him luck by saying ‘break a leg’.
Another theory, as per a blog (nosweatshakespeare.com) suggests that during early years of theatre, the companies were unable to pay every actor they enlisted. The non-performing actors were asked to stay behind a line called the ‘leg line’. If an actor was called forward and wished to ‘break a leg’ it meant that the said actor would perform that night and hence, will also be paid for his performance.
Every profession/trade has some peculiar traits, superstitions or beliefs associated with it. Find out what’s yours.
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