I just came across a new Australianism, that, from what I gather, is highly debated in terms of precise meaning/origin/acceptability in society, but everyone seems to agree that it belongs in the realm of the theatre. It's "chookas," which is roughly equivalent to "break a leg."
Explanations I've come across vary from
1. Rhyming slang of "chook" (chicken) which goes "cluck cluck" which brings "luck."
2. If you get a big enough audience (I think this one is pretty suspect really ...) you all get to eat chicken for dinner.
3. If the house is "choc-a-bloc" (very full), you have a big audience and that's good.
4. None of the above?
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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2 comments:
Yeah, that's a strange one. I'd never come across it until a couple of years ago, despite being involved in theatre since I was very young. Now it seems to be everywhere.
I've always said the traditional "break a leg," the theory behind which is that saying "Good luck" is bad luck. I stick to it - I'm a stubbron sort of traditionalist that way.
Hey, I actually know this one! A "leg" is one of the curtains on a stage -- hence, break a leg is that you have so many curtain calls because the audience is applauding so uproariously that the leg breaks from over-use. Or at least that's what they told me in theatre history class once ...
And just for fun -- "It's Bad Luck to Say Good Luck on Opening Night" from The Producers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4V74pPELf4 :)
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