break a leg

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Fracture one or more leg bones, as in She fell down the stairs and broke her leg in two places. [c. a.d. 1000]

Good luck! as in Play well, Rob—break a leg! The origin of this imperative to a performer about to go onstage is unclear; it may have been a translation of the German Hals und Beinbruch (“Break your neck and leg”), also of unknown origin. Equally mysterious is the Italian equivalent, In bocca di lupe, “Into the mouth of the wolf.” [c. 1900]

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Words nearby break a leg

breadthways, breadwinner, break, breakable, breakage, break a leg, break and entry, breakaway, breakbeat, breakbone fever, break bread

How to use break a leg in a sentence

ROME — What does it take for a Hollywood A-lister to get a private audience with Pope Francis?
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the Mexico that U.S. college students would be wise to steer clear of on spring break.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I did a ten minute scene in his class: the guy who had gangrene in his leg in The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Now-a-days it is the bankrupt who flouts, and his too confiding creditors who are jeered and laughed at.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
Were you ever arrested, having in your custody another man's cash, and would rather go to gaol, than break it?
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
He felt himself the meanest, vilest thing a-crawl upon this sinful earth, and she—dear God!
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
All that scientific bric-a-brac in the cupboard had far better be thrown away.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
If old Piegan Smith hadn't been sampling the contents of that keg so industriously he would never have made a break.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair