# Why "Breaking" in these titles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 10, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998 "2014-02-10T19:18:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/1 "2014-02-10T19:18:18Z")
Somebody just resurrected a zombie thread in the Pit about the show “Breaking Bonaduce,” which finally bubbled a question I’ve had for a while to the surface. Can somebody explain to me what the word “Breaking” means in the context of these TV series: - Breaking Bad - Breaking Amish - Breaking Bonaduce I can’t get my mind around it–it doesn’t seem to mean breaking in the sense of “destroying,” nor in the sense of a wave breaking. Talk to me in small words–what does this term imply? (Note that I have not seen any of these shows, so if they explain it there, I missed it). ---
**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:** [February 10, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/2 "2014-02-10T19:27:58Z")
Well, breaking bad is a colloquialism to say that someone has begun a life of crime or immorality. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/3 "2014-02-10T19:29:45Z")
To “break bad” is a southwestern term which means to embark upon a path of moral dubiousness. The other two are nonsensical and simply capitalizing on the immense popularity _Breaking Bad_. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/4 "2014-02-10T19:31:47Z")
The title of Breaking Bad came from a Southern colloquialism. You can actually learn about it more [here](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/23/breaking-bad-what-does-that-phrase-actually-mean/), via an interview with creator Vince Gilligan. > [@](#): > > Show creator Vince Gilligan has said (as in the video above) that he had thought it was a commonly used phrase when he decided to use it as a title, not knowing that the expression was a Southern regionalism from the area in Virginia from which he hails. It means “to raise hell,” he says, as in “I was out the other night at the bar…and I really broke bad.” “Breaking Amish,” I would conjecture, has to do with the fact that the show is predominantly about younger Amish kids who may or may not continue in the faith into which they were born – hence, the whole “breaking” imagery. “Breaking Bonaduce” probably got no further in the writer’s room than, “Hey, that’s kinda catchy…” but maybe I’m wrong and it’s a brilliant deconstruction of Danny Bonaduce’s life. Though I’d put long odds on that. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/5 "2014-02-10T19:42:42Z")
Can’t do the research now, but I wonder if there’s any relation to the idea of a “break” being a sudden change in direction. Used a lot, for instance, in discussing airplane maneuvers. You hear fighter pilot types talk about “4g break” or “break right\* on my mark!” \*the latter example may just be the movies talking. Aren’t they supposed to say “starboard?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/6 "2014-02-10T20:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Aren’t they supposed to say “starboard?” That’s a really good question, actually. Tom Cruise definitely says “break right” in Top Gun, but the court martial’s findings refer to the starboard engine. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/7 "2014-02-10T20:02:24Z")
Cool, thanks! I tried to google various forms of “breaking,” but for whatever reason it didn’t occur to me to google the whole phrase (probably because I was trying to reconcile the use of “breaking” in all three of those titles). Anyway, ignorance fought! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/8 "2014-02-10T20:06:29Z")
“Breaking” is often used to mean _separating oneself from the pack._ Hence the movie _[Breaking Away](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/)_. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/9 "2014-02-10T20:08:16Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Can’t do the research now, but I wonder if there’s any relation to the idea of a “break” being a sudden change in direction. I think that’s a pretty safe assumption to make. I think of it as a golf putt, where the ball will break one direction or the other, or of playing pool on an unlevel table. For both of these, the standard word is “break.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/10 "2014-02-10T20:08:43Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > To “break bad” is a southwestern term which means to embark upon a path of moral dubiousness. The other two are nonsensical and simply capitalizing on the immense popularity _Breaking Bad_. Actually, according to Wikipedia, _Breaking Bonaduce_ premiered in September 2005, while _Breaking Bad_ premiered in Jan 2008. If you were to assume somebody copied someone else, you’d have to say that Breaking Bad copied Breaking Bonaduce > **[Breaking Bad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad)** > > Breaking Bad is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, dispirited high-school chemistry teacher struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime and partners with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future befo... > **[Breaking Bonaduce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bonaduce)** > > Breaking Bonaduce is an American reality television series that aired on VH1, focusing on former child-actor Danny Bonaduce, and how his (then-) increasingly unstable lifestyle impacted his then-wife, Gretchen, and their two children. The series premiered in September 2005 and ended in December 2006. > The series focused on the problems and events that had led Bonaduce, speaking retrospectively, to consider his life a "car crash". Over the course of filming, Bonaduce's previously publicized abuse ... So where did the title “Breaking Bonaduce” come from? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/11 "2014-02-10T20:08:58Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Can’t do the research now, but I wonder if there’s any relation to the idea of a “break” being a sudden change in direction. That’s my take on it. See for example [breaking pitch.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_ball) I imagine we will see other examples of this to capitalize on the popularity of Breaking Bad, even when it makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/12 "2014-02-10T20:09:26Z")
I always assumed it had to do with a beginning of some phenomenon, or a new direction, as in “breaking news.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/13 "2014-02-10T20:11:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So where did the title “Breaking Bonaduce” come from? I would guess because the subject is the breakdown of his life. Also the sense of “breaking” someone by subjecting them to torture or abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/14 "2014-02-10T20:21:11Z")
In the case of Bonaduce, I thought it was in the sense of “breaking” a horse, meaning to tame it for riding or work. This often means breaking the horse’s will and spirit\*. \*My Grandfather did this with a 2x4 across the bridge of the nose, while effective, I considered it cruel. I hope that less violent forms are available today. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/15 "2014-02-10T20:56:26Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s a really good question, actually. Tom Cruise definitely says “break right” in Top Gun, but the court martial’s findings refer to the starboard engine. Don’t know about military, but civilian ATC commonly instructs pilots to turn “left” or “right”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/16 "2014-02-10T21:00:34Z")
I’m on board with the “change in trajectory” model, and I suspect it comes via baseball. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/17 "2014-02-10T21:12:05Z")
FWIW, the point at which the vertical crease in the legs of a well-ironed pair of trousers is interrupted is also called the “[break](http://sharpologist.com/2011/12/how-to-buy-and-wear-trousers-properly-do-you-make-this-style-mistake-not-shaving-but.html),” possibly using the same concept of a change in flow or direction, possibly simply because the line of the crease is broken. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/18 "2014-02-10T22:34:10Z")
Breaking Bad = as noted means to break into a life of crime. Breaking Amish = Breaking away from Amish life into one of modern western society. Never heard of Breaking Bonaduce. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/19 "2014-02-10T23:02:20Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > In the case of Bonaduce, I thought it was in the sense of “breaking” a horse, meaning to tame it for riding or work. This often means breaking the horse’s will and spirit\*. > > \*My Grandfather did this with a 2x4 across the bridge of the nose, while effective, I considered it cruel. I hope that less violent forms are available today. > > **Capt** I never thought about it before, but that was my thought when I heard the title, perhaps with a thought of “breaking [down] Bonaduce.” It never occurred to me to question the meaning. It seemed clear to me, but maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998/20 "2014-02-10T23:42:57Z")
I think the short answer is that “Breaking…” has become the 21st century successor to “-gate.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-breaking-in-these-titles/680998.md?page=2)