See break a leg in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for break a leg meaning in English (8.9kB)
{
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},
"expansion": "Unknown",
"name": "unk"
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{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "yi",
"3": "הצלחה און ברכה",
"4": "",
"5": "success and blessing",
"tr": "hatslokhe un brokhe"
},
"expansion": "Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "de",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "German",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Hals- und Beinbruch",
"3": "",
"4": "neck and leg fracture"
},
"expansion": "Hals- und Beinbruch (“neck and leg fracture”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "he",
"3": "הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה",
"4": "",
"5": "success and blessing",
"tr": "hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá"
},
"expansion": "Hebrew הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “success and blessing”)",
"name": "der"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Unknown; many unproven and widely debated theories exist. One of the most plausible is that it comes from Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”) through the heavy Ashkenazi Jewish influence in the American theater, via the misinterpretation in German as Hals- und Beinbruch (“neck and leg fracture”). The Yiddish phrase itself comes from Hebrew הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “success and blessing”). Another possible origin was to wish opposite luck on the performer so as not to jinx the statement.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "break a leg !",
"tags": [
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}
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"head": "break a leg!"
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"pos": "intj",
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{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Theater",
"orig": "en:Theater",
"parents": [
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"Culture",
"Society",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
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}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a great show!",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "I told my friend to break a leg, before she went on stage.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor."
],
"id": "en-break_a_leg-en-intj-ydYoj-VS",
"links": [
[
"perform",
"perform#English"
],
[
"theatrical",
"theatrical#English"
],
[
"production",
"production#English"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"english": "opera",
"word": "toi, toi, toi"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "molta merda!"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "祝你好運"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhù nǐ hǎoyùn",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "祝你好运"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "zlom vaz!"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "knæk og bræk!"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "pøj"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "pøj!"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "zet hem op"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"note": "preceded by an imperative",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "... ze!"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"note": "e.g. speel ze",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "toi toi toi!"
},
{
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kivi kotti!"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "tsemppaa!"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "tsemppiä!"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "je te dis merde !"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "merde !"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "bonne merde"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "Hals- und Beinbruch!"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "Mast- und Schotbruch!"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה!"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kéz- és lábtörést!"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "in bocca al lupo!"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"vulgar"
],
"word": "in culo alla balena!"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "skitfiske"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "skitjakt"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "połamania nóg!"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "powodzenia!"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "dê o seu melhor!"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "muita merda!"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni púxa ni perá",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ни пу́ха ни пера́"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni xvosta ni češui",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ни хвоста ни чешуи"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "ни длаке ни пера!"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "ni dlake ni pera!"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "¡mucha mierda!"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"roman": "bowdlerized",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "¡mucha miola/miércale/porra!"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kör hårt!"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "iyi şanslar!"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "şeytanın bacağını kırmak"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ni púxu ni perá!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ні пу́ху ні пера́!"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ni pirʺja ni lusky",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ні пір'я ні луски"
},
{
"code": "yi",
"lang": "Yiddish",
"roman": "hatslokhe un brokhe!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "הצלחה און ברכה!"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-break a leg.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/13/En-au-break_a_leg.ogg/En-au-break_a_leg.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-break_a_leg.ogg",
"tags": [
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"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "break a leg"
}
{
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"name": "unk"
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{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "yi",
"3": "הצלחה און ברכה",
"4": "",
"5": "success and blessing",
"tr": "hatslokhe un brokhe"
},
"expansion": "Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”)",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "de",
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"expansion": "German",
"name": "der"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Hals- und Beinbruch",
"3": "",
"4": "neck and leg fracture"
},
"expansion": "Hals- und Beinbruch (“neck and leg fracture”)",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "he",
"3": "הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה",
"4": "",
"5": "success and blessing",
"tr": "hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá"
},
"expansion": "Hebrew הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “success and blessing”)",
"name": "der"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Unknown; many unproven and widely debated theories exist. One of the most plausible is that it comes from Yiddish הצלחה און ברכה (hatslokhe un brokhe, “success and blessing”) through the heavy Ashkenazi Jewish influence in the American theater, via the misinterpretation in German as Hals- und Beinbruch (“neck and leg fracture”). The Yiddish phrase itself comes from Hebrew הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה (hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá, “success and blessing”). Another possible origin was to wish opposite luck on the performer so as not to jinx the statement.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "break a leg !",
"tags": [
"canonical"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
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"args": {
"head": "break a leg!"
},
"expansion": "break a leg!",
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"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "intj",
"senses": [
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"categories": [
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"English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
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"English terms with usage examples",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
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"en:Theater"
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"examples": [
{
"text": "Go out there and break a leg tonight. Put on a great show!",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "I told my friend to break a leg, before she went on stage.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor."
],
"links": [
[
"perform",
"perform#English"
],
[
"theatrical",
"theatrical#English"
],
[
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],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor."
],
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"english": "opera",
"word": "toi, toi, toi"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
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"audio": "en-au-break a leg.ogg",
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"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/En-au-break_a_leg.ogg",
"tags": [
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"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "molta merda!"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "祝你好運"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "zhù nǐ hǎoyùn",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "祝你好运"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "zlom vaz!"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "knæk og bræk!"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "pøj"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "pøj!"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "zet hem op"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"note": "preceded by an imperative",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "... ze!"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"note": "e.g. speel ze",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "toi toi toi!"
},
{
"code": "et",
"lang": "Estonian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kivi kotti!"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "tsemppaa!"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "tsemppiä!"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "je te dis merde !"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "merde !"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "bonne merde"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "Hals- und Beinbruch!"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "Mast- und Schotbruch!"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "hatzlakhá u-v'rakhá!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "הַצְלָחָה וּבְרָכָה!"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kéz- és lábtörést!"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "in bocca al lupo!"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"vulgar"
],
"word": "in culo alla balena!"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "skitfiske"
},
{
"code": "nn",
"lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "skitjakt"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "połamania nóg!"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "powodzenia!"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "dê o seu melhor!"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "muita merda!"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni púxa ni perá",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ни пу́ха ни пера́"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni xvosta ni češui",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ни хвоста ни чешуи"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"Cyrillic"
],
"word": "ни длаке ни пера!"
},
{
"code": "sh",
"lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"tags": [
"Roman"
],
"word": "ni dlake ni pera!"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "¡mucha mierda!"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"roman": "bowdlerized",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "¡mucha miola/miércale/porra!"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "kör hårt!"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "iyi şanslar!"
},
{
"code": "tr",
"lang": "Turkish",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "şeytanın bacağını kırmak"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ni púxu ni perá!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ні пу́ху ні пера́!"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "ni pirʺja ni lusky",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "ні пір'я ні луски"
},
{
"code": "yi",
"lang": "Yiddish",
"roman": "hatslokhe un brokhe!",
"sense": "expression of best wishes to a performer",
"word": "הצלחה און ברכה!"
}
],
"word": "break a leg"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.