3 Break a leg 斷一條腿 (好運)

To wish an actor prior to his going on stage to ‘break a leg’ is a well-known practice. A pretty strange wish, actually it is meant magically to bring him luck and make sure that his performance will be a success. From the superstitious age it was thought that jealous forces, always present, are only too anxious to spoil any venture. A good luck wish would alert and provoke them to do their evil work, whilst a curse will make them turn their attention elsewhere. The underlying principle is the belief that if you wish evil, then good will come. I’m sure it’s called reverse psychology these days.

在一個演員上臺之前預祝他“斷一條腿”是一個眾所周知的行為。這是一個奇怪的祝福，事實上，這意味著神奇般的帶給他好運和確保他的演出成功。在迷信的歲月里，人們認為一直存在的嫉妒的力量是十分急躁的，它會破壞任何冒險。一個好運的祝福會警惕并促使他們做邪惡的工作，然而詛咒會轉移他們的注意力。最基本的理論就是，如果你的祝福邪惡，好運反會來臨。我覺得這個現在叫做逆反心理。