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"Break a leg!" One says this to actors (and other performers) before they go on stage, by way of wishing them success, especially on opening nights. But where does the expression come from and why is it used in this way? There may be some connection with the Dutch phrase "hals en been breken" (break a neck and a leg) and with a similar one in German, but this still doesn't explain anything. I've also heard it mooted that this colorful figure of speech derives from John Wilkes Booth having leapt from the presidential box and broken his leg after assassinating Lincoln. But why? Because he succeeded in his appointed task, at a play?
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old hand
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While we're on the subject, is it true that the French wish each other good luck by saying 'Merde!' to each other?
Further digression: Just recently I saw the comic 'Boeing, Boeing', a French show in which one of the lead girls had a cast on her leg - it made the show all the more funny, if slower. Do you think anyone wished her well by saying 'Break a leg!' though?
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Carpal Tunnel
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While waiting for our resident actors, WO'N aka Juan and Fiberbabe (and any closet actors in the wings) to opine, I can say that yes, it's true the French say merde, and, BTW, Brazilians say merda.
This may be a YART but I don't care
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enthusiast
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And if someone says 'Merde' to you, you are not supposed to say 'Merci' - the appropriate response is no response at all. Not sure why. In English, when someone says 'Break a leg', it is okay to say thanks.
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Carpal Tunnel
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If you want a euphemism for "Merde"
, Le mot de General Cambronne is Merde. That means "shit" in English. This is the
word which made him immortal. Today in France when a Frenchman wants to insult you elegantly, he
says, "Je voux donne le mot de General Cambronne." "I give you the word of General Cambronne."
General Cambronne was made immortal by only one thing, that one word he used at Waterloo.
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Amazing that, with all the years I've been involved with the theatre I've never delved into the etymology of this pharse (although I have wondered about it, and discussed it with fellow thespians, but never actually researched it). I will be going on a Google excavation! I have also done extensive research on the character and life of John Wilkes Booth (whom I sometimes portray at Civil War reenactments), and I have never seen one mention alluding to his breaking his leg at the time of Lincoln's assasination as having given rise to this phrase. And, by the way...NEVER say "break a leg" to a dancer!  I studied tap for many years, so I know.
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I was told (at a drunken cast party long ago, so the details haven't stuck, I'm afraid) that leg doesn't refer to the body part. Rather, the expression supposedly refers to making a profit on the show or breaking through the curtain (or something -- man, I wish I could remember). Unless, of course, someone was pulling my leg!
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a drunken cast party What's that like? I don't remember any of those. 
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Found this -- from Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins http://www.wordorigins.org/thelist.htm (Book it, Maxo! )...this is the list page, not the home page. "Break a Leg"
Superstition against wishing an actor Good Luck! has led to the adoption of this phrase
in its place. Popular etymology derives the phrase from the 1865 assassination of
Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, the actor turned assassin, leapt to the stage of
Ford's Theater after the murder, breaking his leg in the process. The logical connection
with good luck is none too clear, but such is folklore.
There is no evidence, however, to suggest that this is the true derivation, and since the
earliest usage of the phrase dates to the 1920s, there is much to suggest that it is not. The
best that can be said is that the origin is unknown.
In the theatrical community it is commonly told that the phrase refers to bending the
knee, an old style of bowing. To break a leg was to bow a lot, meaning a successful
performance. But there is no evidence to support this explanation and the fact that it only
dates to the 1920s mitigates against it. Much more likely is that the phrase arose from a
simple superstition against wishing someone good luck.
Partridge's A Dictionary of Catch Phrases suggests that there may be a connection with
the German phrase Hals und Beinbruch, an invitation to break your neck and bones. The
German phrase is used by aviators and is equivalent to the English phrase Happy
Landings!. Both phrases arose about the same time, the early twentieth century, but the
connection between the German aviation community and American theater is unclear,
so they may be unrelated.
Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, published some eight
years before the other source, does not list the theatrical meaning. Instead, it lists an
obsolete meaning of "to give birth to a bastard child," from circa 1670.
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stranger
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I had always heard that it derived in early 20th cent./late 19th cent. theater. It was wished to a person about to go on stage as a means of disarming the worst possible occurrence while on stage...breaking your leg. If you wish someone great success and it doesn't happen then you're in trouble but if you wish someone to break their leg and it doesn't happen then you're okay. Kind of early reverse psychology.
Nobody stranger
Nobody stranger
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I've also heard it mooted
Hi, Eddie! What's mooted, please? That is, I gather from the context it's a sub. for rumored, but where does it come from? Is it slang? Can it have a present tense?
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the etymology of this pharse (Emphasis mine)
Ah, W'ON, you are the king of the Freudian slip these days aren't you! 
Having been gainfully employed as an actor(ess) for 5 years some time ago, I should probably have some idea about this, but I don't really. I agree with the site that says (and I paraphrase) "If we're using this to trick the evil spirits of the stage, then those spirits sure are dumb."
Hev
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What's mooted?
Hey Jackie - interesting question! I've learnt something new looking this up:
Main Entry 1: moot
Pronunciation: 'müt
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mOt, gemOt; akin to Middle High German muoze meeting
Date: before 12th century
1 : a deliberative assembly primarily for the administration of justice; especially : one held by the freemen of an Anglo-Saxon community
2 obsolete : ARGUMENT, DISCUSSION
Main Entry 2: moot
Function: transitive verb
Date: before 12th century
1 archaic : to discuss from a legal standpoint : ARGUE
2 a : to bring up for discussion : BROACH b : DEBATE
Main Entry 3: moot
Function: adjective
Date: circa 1587
1 a : open to question : DEBATABLE b : subjected to discussion : DISPUTED
2 : deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic
Taken from www.yourDictionary.com
Well, definitely not slang... I've also heard "moot point". Common usage (that I've heard people use in my work environment) is to state that the issue isn't worth discussing, probably based on the 3rd entry above, where something is academic.
So - moot - means either it's worth discussing, or it isn't. Is this a moot point?
Hev
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My understanding of "mootness" is rather that it doesn't matter. When the truth or falsity of a point would not change the validity of an argument one way or the other, the point is moot.
Comments from the Bar?
But where did the word come from in the first place? Sounds vaguely Anglo-Saxon.
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the etymology of this pharse (Emphasis mine)
Ah, W'ON, you are the king of the Freudian slip these days aren't you! Well, you know what they say, hev..."Farce closes on Friday!" (or sometin' like that  ) Having been gainfully employed as an actor(ess) for 5 years some time ago Not surprised, hev! You do have that Nicole Kidman aura about you!
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Another superstition among actors is that one should never say the name "MacBeth" onstage, unless you're actually speaking lines in the play. It is obliquely referred to as "The play about the Scottish king" or "That Scottish play." I was told it was because some famous productions of that play were struck by tragedy -- but I don't remember the exact tragedies involved right now.
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old hand
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I was going to mention the knee-bending answer (listed above in purple - sorry, can't remember poster!) - an actor told that one to me.
But....I was also going to mention (and now I am mentioning it!) that there's another possibility: that "leg" is short for "legend" - hence, "break a legend" - ie, "be really, really good!"
Or as Bill and Ted of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure would say: Be excellent.
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wofa, my understanding is that moot refers to a point that has become moot: that it was at one time relevant, but has become irrelevant due to later events or due to decisions adopted on other parts of the argument.
For example, a court might say, "We are dismissing this case on the basis of the first argument raised by defendant. It is accordingly unnecessary to discuss defendant's second argument for dismissal, which is now moot."
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stranger
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Hello Jackie...
moot (verb transitive) 1. to debate or discuss 2. to propose or bring up for discussion or debate 3. to reduce or remove the practical significance of; make purely theoretical or academic.
I was using "mooted" in the second sense = I've heard it proposed, suggested. The origins of the word date to before 900 AD (ME, mot(e), meeting or assembly); "moot," therefore, is etymologically connected to the word "meet."
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In law school, we all had to go through the hell of Moot Court (I wasn't born to litigate!) - a mock trial.
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In law school, we all had to go through the hell of Moot Court (I wasn't born to litigate!) - a mock trial.Hmm, like my missus. She was a nervous wreck for a week before it and a wrung-out wreck for days afterwards. Now,I only have to mention the word "moot" and ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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