The phrase that I chose is “knock on wood”. I chose this phrase because I hear it a lot and even use it, but I am not sure why exactly we use it or where the phrase originates from. Before conducting any research, I am not sure what this phrase means. I just know from context that it is used as sort of a luck charm to not jinx a situation by speaking of recent good luck, something bad that could happen, or something bad that has never happened.
The exact origins of this phrase are unknown, but there are multiple theories as to how it came about. The action of knocking on wood is thought to come from the ancient Indo-Europeans or possibly a group of people before them. These people believed that spirits lived inside of trees. Pagan cultures, such as the Celts, also had similar beliefs, and that knocking on trees would rouse the spirits and call for their protection. It also could have been a way to show gratitude for a series of good luck. Another theory is that knocking on wood would chase away evil spirits when people spoke about their good luck, so that bad luck would not then ensue. One more theory is that it comes from a 19th century game called “Tiggy Touchwood”. This game is a type of tag in which players were safe from being caught when they touched a piece of wood, like a door or a tree. These are just some of the theories of where this came from, and some are very similar. A common theme amongst all of them is that knocking on or touching wood would provide some type of protection for us. It originally was a way to continue a streak of good luck or ward off bad luck. At the time people believed in tree spirits that would protect them if they knocked on wood, or would ward off evil spirits that brought bad luck. Today it is still used in a very similar manner, but without these mystical superstitions.
The meaning has not necessarily changed, but the beliefs behind it have. Much like when this phrase/action was first introduced, we still hope that it helps us have good luck and protects us from bad things. The difference is that now we do not believe in good or bad tree spirits that will protect us or need to be warded off. This says that as a culture we do not believe in things like tree spirits anymore, among other supernatural beliefs that were once thought to be true. Much like the phrase “bless you”, the action and phrase of knocking on wood is now something that we mindlessly do to bring us luck, even though most people are not sure exactly why this is supposed to bring luck.
Works Cited
Andrews, Evan. “Why Do People Knock on Wood for Luck?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Aug. 2016, https://www.history.com/news/why-do-people-knock-on-wood-for-luckLinks to an external site..
LaBracio, Lisa, and Stuart Vyse . “Why Do We Knock on Wood?” TED, 19 May 2017, https://blog.ed.ted.com/2017/05/18/why-do-we-knock-on-wood/
Hold Your Horses
By: Trey Sestak
The American phrase I chose to examine is the phrase hold your horses. One of the reasons I chose this phrase is that I would hear it on many occasions growing up, mostly from my grandfather. Being familiar with the phrase, I had always assumed that I knew what it meant. Since it had to do with horses, I gathered that it was an old-world phrase most likely directed towards horse and buggy, possibly of British origin. After researching the phase, I found that I was mostly correct, but unfortunately, I was wrong in my assumption that hold your horses was a British term.
It actually started out written slightly different. As stated by Gary Martin, "In keeping with its American origin, it originally was written as 'hold your hosses' and it appears in print that way many times from 1844 onwards" (Martin, n.d.:1). Looking back now, the assignment was for a phrase of American origin and if I was correct about it being a British term, I would not be able to use this phrase any ways. I was, however, correct about the definition in relation to horse and buggy, as explained on Proofed.com: "The rider or driver holds the ropes and reins that are used to slow the horses down and direct them. The idiom “hold your horses” tells someone to slow down and think about what they’re doing before they complete an action"(Idiom Tips: What Does “Hold Your Horses” Mean? | Proofed’s Writing Tips, 2022:1). Regarding how the meaning for hold your horses had changed, in the last one hundred years, horses have not been humanity's main form of transportation with the mass production of cars and other inventions of similar nature, but the phrase persisted even today and now relates to ordinary scenarios, to not be in such a rush and just take a moment to think before you act.
Idiom Tips: What Does “Hold Your Horses” Mean? | Proofed’s Writing Tips. Proofed. (2022, September 16). Retreived September 28, 2022, from https://proofed.com/writing-tips/idiom-tips-what-does-hold-your-horses-mean/
Martin, G. (n.d.). “Hold your horses” - the meaning and origin of this phrase. Phrasefinder. Retreived September 28, 2022, from https://phrases.org.uk/meanings/184400.html
12 comments:
These are all great phrases that everyone in America we tend to use. One of the thoughts is that knocking on wood will chase away the evil spirits and prevent them from listening in on what you just said. Evil spirits love to disrupt your plans and destroy you good fortunes. It really just a superstitious belief that when you compliment/say something too good about a person it may somehow turn against him and bad things will start to happen I mean we’ll that’s how I always thought of it.
knocking on wood is a good phrase I hear the saying all the time by my family and other
people that I am around. it is interesting that it is used in are society still to this day
as a good look sign and that it was used to chase evil spirits away and for many other things way back then.
I also hear knock on wood basically every other day in college and household. Before reading this I thought it just meant just don't jinx yourself on whatever your manifesting or hoping for. Learning it means something totally different is crazy, thank you for this blog
Reading the phrase knock on wood kinda excited me because I've always wanted to know where that phrase came from! I personally don’t say it, but I hear a lot of people that say it and of course you know what they mean by saying it ( good luck ) but it’s good to read this and know now how that phrase got created into meaning “good luck”.
Khalil Foster
I use the phrase knock on wood literally anytime someone says something to jinx someone or myself, it's cool to actually learn the origin of a phrase I use so much.
Still till this day, I use the phrase knock on wood to not jink myself or jinx anybody else around me. Learning the origin of this phrase is very interesting and different.
Sabthana R.
Knocking on wood is something that I've always done growing up watching my older siblings do as well. We did it because we believed in the general belief that it would help stop something from messing up what we had going on. To be honest, I'm not sure if it even works or not but it Is such a habit to me now that I can't see myself stopping. Whether it be out of habit or superstition, it's something that I feel like I need to do.
Knocking on wood was phrase I used a lot to prevent something bad happening I hear and see my momma do a lot and my grandma I’m glad read this article to see where it came from Keith McConnell
I say the phrase knock on wood often. Anytime I might jinx something or someone else did I always have to say it. Other people say it to me all the time too, I'd say like once a week at least. I feel like this is a really common one at least here in the Midwest. It is so interesting that this phrase is thought to have had Indo-European origins. It seems so wacky that they would have thought that knocking on wood would chase away the evil spirits, but maybe they're right. My mom always said hold your horses to me when I was growing up. I don't hear this phrase as often anymore so maybe this one is more of a generational thing.
Micah Landry
When I use the phrase knock on wood it is to not jinx myself into something bad happening. If I was to say Im I hope I don't crash in the dark tonight, after I would knock on wood to make sure my thoughts don't become reality. There has been a couple times where I said some negative things and they became true.
Oh, I totally get what you mean! "Knock on wood" is such a common phrase, but the origins are a bit mysterious. Some theories suggest that it goes way back to ancient Indo-European cultures who believed that spirits resided in trees. So, by knocking on wood, they believed they could awaken those protective spirits. Another theory is that it was a way to ward off evil spirits and prevent bad luck from happening. There's even a theory that it originated from a 19th-century game called "Tiggy Touchwood."
The phrase knocking on wood is a means of warding off bad luck and seeking protection from tree spirits sheds light on the symbolic significance associated with the custom. It draws attention to the ways in which superstition, folklore, and cultural beliefs are all connected in influencing rituals and behavior in people. It is important to note that, despite shifts in underlying ideas, the meaning of the statement has stayed constant across time. It shows how certain cultural practices are timeless and may change with the times without losing their original meaning.
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