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  • Hi, and welcome to Harry's world of words and phrases and English in a minute.

  • Let's look at an idiom, 'break a leg'.

  • It's quite common but a little difficult for people to understand, and, uh, somewhat to explain.

  • But, it has its history back in the English traditions of the theatre and even goes back as far as Shakespearian times.

  • Perversely, people didn't like to wish a fellow actor good luck because they thought it would invoke or bring about bad luck, so they decided to come up with a phrase that would be the opposite.

  • So, they invented the phrase 'break a leg'.

  • So when somebody's about to go on for their big audition or their first night, they would typically say to each other 'Break a leg!'.

  • So, today, when your friend is going to do his driving test or he's going for a job interview you might just say 'Break a leg!'.

  • So, it really is wishing them good luck.

  • Okay, so that's all for today, and remember, subscribe to our Channel and join us as always on www.englishlessonviaskype.com, and I'll see you again soon.

Hi, and welcome to Harry's world of words and phrases and English in a minute.

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