Why do people say “break a leg” to actors?

Question

Frequently, before going on stage, someone will say "break a leg" to an actor, which is a peculiar acting saying meaning "good luck!" How did this expression come about?

Answer 1

According to Wikipedia, the term:

reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use. Among professional dancers, the phrase "break a leg" is replaced with "merde".

The article goes on to mention several theories about the actual origins of this expression. The one that is often mentioned (as far as I have heard), is called the Opposite Meaning theory. It says,

People in theatre consider it bad luck to wish an actor good luck, so instead they wish the opposite, by saying "break a leg!".

Another theory claims that the phrase has Greek origins:

In the time of Ancient Greece, people didn't applaud. Instead, they stomped for their appreciation and if they stomped long enough, they would break a leg. Or, some would have it that the term originated during Elizabethan times when, instead of applause the audience would bang their chairs on the ground—and if they liked it enough, the leg of the chair would break.[12]

Still another claims that the origins are, in fact, Yiddish:

Some etymologists believe it to be an adaptation from the Yiddish translation into German. The phrase "Hatsloche un Broche" (הצלחה און ברכה) ("success and blessing") had been calqued from the German phrase "Hals- und Beinbruch" ("neck and leg fracture"), because of near similar pronunciation.

The Phrase Finder (hat tip to Unreason) has even more theories on how the term came to be. They note that:

'Break a leg' also means, 'make a strenuous effort'. There are many references to the phrase used that way, which pre-date the earliest theatrical good luck charm meaning.

So the theories they offer stem from this. For example, the following things could be related to "breaking a leg":

• Put on a performance good enough that you will have to bend your knee in a bow or curtsey to acknowledge the applause.
• Impress the audience so much that you will need to bend down to pick up the coins they throw onto the stage.
• Pass out onto the stage to receive a curtain call (the side curtains on a stage are known as legs).
• Go on stage and have your 'big break'.

Note that still, nobody knows the exact origin of the phrase, but some are more plausible than others.

Answer 2

It's a superstition; wishing a stage performer "good luck" will cause them to have bad luck, so instead the person tells the performer to have the worst luck commonly thought of; literally breaking a leg on stage would be a very bad thing, considering "the show must go on".

Answer 3

Someone told me that a "leg" was a part of the mechanism that raised and lowered the curtain, the idea being that you could get so many curtain calls, your very popularity would end up breaking the leg of the curtain. I find this extremely implausible but thought I'd pass it along.

Answer 4

Saying "good luck" in theatre is considered bad luck. Just like saying "Macbeth" is considered bad luck or a bad omen. (Instead of saying "Macbeth", people will refer to it as "The Scottish Play")

Break a leg

Answer 5

Break a leg may stand for run, go, rush, don't have second thoughts, you've got what it takes to win. It is like hit the road, hit the ground running, hit the ceiling etc. which shouldn't be taken literally.

It is one of those idioms that is transportable and not necessarily originating from the showbiz. It's for assuring and motivating actors even more than "good luck".