Did you
know?

fingers crossed
idiom

- to hope that things will happen in the way you want them to

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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Human superstitions have been around for thousands of years. Many of them can be traced to the earlier Greek, Egyptian and Roman civilizations. Other superstitions are rooted in religious beliefs. For instance, one of the more common explanations for "fingers crossed" is that by making the sign of the Christian faith with our fingers, evil spirits are prevented from destroying our chances of good fortune.

Charles Panati, in his book Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, offers a more elaborate explanation. He claims this tradition originated in pre-Christian times "when the cross was a symbol of unity and benign spirits dwelt at the intersection point. A wish made on a cross was a way of securing the wish at the intersection of the cross until the wish was fulfilled."

He goes on to explain that it originally took two people: a comrade or well-wisher placing his index finger over the index finger of the person making the wish, the two fingers forming a cross. The one person makes the wish, the other empathizes and supports. Over centuries, the custom was simplified, so that a person could wish on his own, by crossing his index and middle fingers to form an X.

Another related tradition used mainly by children is crossing the fingers behind the back when telling a lie in the belief that this relieves you of any responsibility for not telling the truth.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation

"Keep your fingers crossed that we get the contract."