# “Break a leg!”

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [October 5, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720 "2016-10-05T18:30:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720/1 "2016-10-05T18:30:03Z")

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For whatever it’s worth, in the world of opera, it’s “In bocca al lupo,”—“In the mouth of the wolf!”

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**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720/2 "2016-10-05T18:53:57Z")

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And the stock reply is _crepi il lupo!_, ‘may the wolf die’.

[Link to Staff Report](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1813/whats-the-origin-of-break-a-leg-in-show-business)

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**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\
**Post date:** [October 5, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720/3 "2016-10-05T19:05:17Z")

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And dancers often use _merde_.

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**Author:** ![BlaiseM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BlaiseM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlaiseM)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2016, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/break-a-leg/767720/4 "2016-10-06T09:45:02Z")

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I heard another origin for “break a leg”  
Artists entry used to be on the theater side, on the small street where horse powered vehicles and drivers would wait after bringing their masters to performance.  
So many spectators would mean many carriages and lot of horse shit there. And of course increased risk for artist to slip on it and break a leg.