[Ads-l] break a leg

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Andy Bach wrote:
> > The first citation contained "broke her leg above the knee".
>
> Makes one wonder what the development of this slang (idiom?) was.
> Well, me, anway.

The technique required to see the citations at Green’s Dictionary of
Slang (GDoS) is not obvious. When you visit a webpage for an entry on
the GDoS website you will notice on the far right the phrase "Show
all" appears. Adjacent to "Show all" there is a grey symbol composed
of three short dashes and four longer dashes. Let us call this the
"Show all" symbol.

Each webpage for an entry also displays one of more timelines. On the
right of each timeline there is a symbol that looks like the "Show
all" symbol. If you click on the "Show all" symbol adjacent to a time
line then a set of citations will be displayed.

The following webpage shows 6 senses and 6 timelines. You can click on
each one of the six "Show all" symbols to see six collections of
citations.

The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang (HDAS)
compiled by the sagacious slang expert J. E. Lighter has an entry for
"leg: break a leg" on page 419 of volume 2. There are three senses,
but I do not see "broke a leg above the knee". Maybe it appears
elsewhere.

Garson




https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/o4zbvxa

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