[Ads-l] break a leg

[Wilson Gray]

> I'm quite sure I never saw it in an independent American source.

Thou hast said it.

On Fri, Jul 17, 2020 at 9:43 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I recall seeing "break a leg above the knee" in British glossaries (most of
> which copied from each other), but I'm quite sure I never saw it in an
> independent American source.
>
> JL
>
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 11:58 PM Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >The technique required to see the citations at Green’s Dictionary of
> > > Slang (GDoS) is not obvious.
> >
> > Hear! Hear!
> >
> > On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 7:10 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> > adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > 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
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > -Wilson
> > -----
> > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> > come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> > -Mark Twain
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org