# Breaking the news

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-news/174912>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2003, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-news/174912 "2003-05-13T10:10:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-news/174912/1 "2003-05-13T10:10:03Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-the-news/174912/2 "2003-05-13T10:39:09Z")

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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.