Re: Another Happy Birthday!

>From: Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>
>Reply-To: Constructed Languages List <CONLANG@...>
>To: CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU
>Subject: Re: Another Happy Birthday!
>Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 15:11:36 +0200
>
>It could be an expression you *mustn't* answer to, like we have in theater
>in
>France. When you want to wish good luck to an actor or a director before
>the
>beginning of a theater play, you cannot use "good luck" ("bonne chance")
>since
>it brings bad luck :)) (actors are quite superstitious when it comes to
>acting :)) ). You have to say "Merde !" (yes indeed, you read me
>correctly :)) ) and the person who receives the wish mustn't answer to it.
>Are
>there other languages (nat- and/or con-) that also have insults promoted to
>good wish interjections in some situations?

Finnish has a *physical* insult. Idiomatic phrase "kick of luck" means a
lucky accident, and  therefore young people (at least where I live)
sometimes really kick each other on the bottom (gently :) to wish luck
before hard situations, such as tests in school, or very probably a play.


This might of course be a calque and thus well known for half the list, I
have no idea...

---
-M. Å.



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