What is the origin of the phrase"keep your fingers crossed''?

Answer 1

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I've read that it's literally making the sign of the cross to ask for God's help. Interestingly, you can also cross your fingers behind your back to cover up a lie, and this supposedly comes from religious persecution; when people were asked if they were Christians, they would lie and say no to escape Roman retribution, but make the sign of the cross behind their back to ask God's forgiveness for the lie.

Answer 2

where does the saying 'keep your fingers crossed' originate from.did it always mean the same as we know it today?

: from the archives...
KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED -- From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman: "Hope for success. The saying derives from the superstition that bad luck may be averted by making the sign of the cross. Originated in the 1920s."
I hope this helps .CC

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where does the saying 'keep your fingers crossed' originate from.did it always mean the same as we know it today?

Answer 3

I made that up

Answer 4

But when things aren’t going “OK” and you just need some plain luck, what do you do? You cross your fingers, of course. Or some may ask you to “keep your fingers crossed” for them before they scratch that lottery ticket. This gesture originates from the custom of making a wish upon the cross. It was believed that the cross was a symbol of unity and that benign spirits dwelt at its intersecting point -- to wish on a cross was a figurative way of securing the wish at the intersection until it came true. This custom dates back to pre-Christian times and, in many early European cultures, two people were required to use their index fingers to form the sign, one to make the wish and the other to support it. Over the years, the custom was modified so one person could make a wish on his/her own.

So if you cross your fingers for, say, your favorite sports team to win and they make a last minute goal, touchdown, basket or whatever, you might exclaim, “Boy, that was in the nick of time!” And sport is exactly where that expression came from. Many centuries ago, points in a game -similar to today’s soccer -- were notched into wooden sticks called tallies. When a last minute score brought victory, it was called the “nick in time.”

Phew! Game over. Your team won and now it is time for a good night’s sleep. Some well-wishers might warn, “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.” And woe to those who didn’t listen.

This expression derives from a familiar caution that had everything to do with how beds were constructed at the time. A mattress was placed on rope woven through a square frame, and if it wasn’t strung tightly enough, the bed would sag and possibly hit the floor. Which is where the bed bugs come into play: they are real and they do bite. So back when things were a lot less sanitary, if the bed or the sheets touched the floor you were in for some itchy sleep.

Let’s move from insects to animals, since the next two origins stories concern two well-loved four-legged creatures. The first one is the term “dead ringer,” which means an almost identical copy or likeness. There are a few theories on where this expression first got its meaning, but I will pass on the most interesting one. In horse racing a substitute horse is referred to as a ringer. It is said that some less-than-honest owners maintain two horses that look almost identical, hence, the use of the word “dead” meaning “exact,” like if you were to say, “the target was hit dead center.” They race the slower horse until the odds are to their liking, then replace it with the faster horse to win big bucks on the race.

The next term is “red herring,” which has less to do with fish and more to do with dogs. The expression is used in reference to something misleading or distracting. According to the magazine Red Herring, back in the 1800s British fugitives would run a red herring through their trail to distract police dogs. Later, in the 1920s, American investment bankers used the term to pass on a warning that preliminary prospectuses may be misleading. Other sources also say that red herring was used to train dogs and, therefore, when poachers wanted to mislead the dogs during a hunt, they would drag red herring across the trail. Whichever the case, it seems red herring is a smelly enough substance to throw even our canine friends from a criminal trail