Why do theater people say "break a leg"?

Search: break a leg origin

Why: Chandler guesstimates it comes from John Wilkes Booth leaping to the stage, but what does that have to do with good luck?

Answer: Well, it's a bit of a question mark. However! the word "leg" here might/probably refer[s] to the curtains on the sides of the stage that cover the wings. So:

• The applause from your performance should be so great that the legs fall from the stage - you "break a leg." (What?)
• When a person moves past a drop, he is "breaking curtain." When he comes from the wings, he must "break a leg." Long ago - like during the vaudeville era - a crowd might react so badly that a performer was not allowed to finish his act.

No matter - even a few minutes on stage was good exposure. He still managed to get exposure by "breaking the leg." (It also meant he got paid.)

Or:

The rod that allows for the curtain to be raised and lowered is called the "leg." So "break a leg" means to get so many curtain calls that the leg breaks in two.

Or the phrase might come from bending your knee to take a bow or curtsy. Or from bending your knee to pick up the coins or flowers or whatever the audience throws on stage.

Or in the days of old Greek theater, people didn't applaud; they stomped their appreciation. If they stomped hard and long enough, they would break a leg... Or in Elizabethan times, people stomped on their chairs. If they stomped hard and long enough, they would break a leg of the chair.

Or:

A lead actor broke his leg an hour before curtain time. All the cast members learned about it, and he still went on despite his condition. All the caste members did their best performance that night, because everyone was worried that the audience might notice the broken leg. As a result, they got the best review the next day.

Or it's to evoke the powers of legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt, who had one leg amputated after a fumbled stage dive.

Or it comes from the Yiddish phrase Hatsloche un Broche (הצלחה און ברכה), "success and blessing." It sounds like the German phrase Hals- und Beinbruch, which means "neck and leg fracture."

Or whatever.

Source: IdiomSite, TheatreCrafts, Phrases.org.uk, Wikipedia

The More You Know: If you say "good luck" to an actor, you have to go outside, turn around 3 times, spit over your shoulder, and knock on the door to ask for readmittance. Dramatic!