Knock on Wood – Meaning, Origin & Usage
“Knock on wood” is a very common expression and an idiom that’s somewhat cliche. But the term is derived from such an old superstition that youngsters may not understand where this concept comes from. If that sounds like you, you’ve come to just the place. We’lll unpack the meaning, the origins,
Let’s get straight to it.
What does “knock on wood” mean?
People say “knock on wood” when they knock on wood for good luck. It is sometimes phrased as “touch wood”. People do this when they declare that something (a bad thing) doesn’t ever happen to them. The superstition of knocking on wood is believed to prevent the said bad thing from happening to the person in question in the future. The phrase expresses a wish that something will or will not occur.
Origins of the phrase “knock on wood”
The superstition is an old one and has many possible explanations, none of which we can be 100% sure of. One theory is that it comes from a Christian superstition that rises from the New Testament of the Bible. In the sixth chapter of Galatians it is written “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Many take this to mean that you will be forgiven any vainglorious boast if you quickly recall the wooden cross Christ carried.
Others believe that the concept predates Christianity. Some say that it comes from the ancient Indo-Europeans, Pagans, Druids, or Celts. People at that time believed the trees housed various spirits, so when you touched the tree, you were given the luck, protection, or blessing of the spirit within the tree.
The expression became commonplace by the 1850s, and Winston Churchill once said that he always liked to be within an arm’s length of a piece of wood.
Global variations of the “knock on wood” tradition
You may be interested to know that there are many different variations of the knocking on wood tradition across different cultures. Here are some examples…
In Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, people knock on wood or another surface and knock on their forehead while saying “amit-amit” or “choi” when they hear someone saying bad things. In Sweden, people say “pepper, pepper, touch wood” by throwing pepper over their shoulder and touching a wooden object. In both Brazil and Georgia people knock on wood three times to avoid bad luck. In Italy they say “tocca ferro”, which means “touch iron”. This may be related to the belief that horseshoes can repel evil. In Turkey, people knock on wood twice and gently tug on an earlobe when they hear about someone else’s misfortune. In Poland and Russia people knock on unpainted wood to avoid bad luck.
Final word
So, to wrap up, people say “knock on wood” when they knock on wood for good luck. The precise origins of this superstition is unclear, but it has become highly prevalent.
