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break a leg

English idiom used in theatre to wish a performer "good luck"
Thing idiom Q459048
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break a leg

Summary

break a leg is an idiom[1]. It ranks in the top 8% of idiom entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (2,374 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • break a leg's instance of is recorded as idiom[3].
  • break a leg's instance of is recorded as dead metaphor[4].
  • break a leg's said to be the same as is recorded as In bocca al lupo[5].
  • break a leg's said to be the same as is recorded as merde[6].
  • break a leg's facet of is recorded as luck[7].
  • break a leg's manifestation of is recorded as theatrical superstitions[8].

Body

Definition and Type

Recorded instance of include idiom[3] and dead metaphor[4].

Why It Matters

break a leg ranks in the top 8% of idiom entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (2,374 views/month).[2] It is known by 6 alternative names across languages and contexts.[9]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [3] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [9] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). break a leg. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/break-a-leg
MLA “break a leg.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/break-a-leg.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_break-a-leg_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{break a leg}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/break-a-leg}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): break a leg — https://4ort.xyz/entity/break-a-leg (retrieved 2026-05-03)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/break-a-leg · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 9d ago · Wd-Ryan · 2026-08-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Aliases → —
    Manifestation of → theatrical superstitions
    Subject lexeme → L1218499
    Facet of → luck
    + 3 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P6254]]: [[Lexeme:L1218499]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.