Anyone have any idea on the etymology of ‘to break the news’? Does it have to do with breaking waves perhaps? Please some enlighten me on this subject.
The dictionary isn’t much help on this one; listing quite a number of different uses for the word break, but I would suggest that the usage here is related to the concept of ‘Break of day’ (i.e. sunrise) - the sun ‘breaks’ in or intrudes, likewise the news intrudes (breaks in) upon the routine.