Re: [tied] Touch wood

From: Marc Verhaegen
Message: 9214
Date: 2001-09-08

>>Does this "touch wood" mean "I hope we're lucky"? If it does, it's funny to think why some languages have "touch iron" and others "wood". I had only heard this "wood" thing in Spanish. Anybody knows about it? (maybe some kind of Roman stuff?)
 
>One touches wood to ward off bad luck, or more specifically to prevent the fulfilment of something one has just said: "I've never been to hospital -- touch wood!" (or "knock on wood!" in American English) -- in this case, cancelling an untimely boast lest the gods should make sure that you _do_ go to hospital. In Poland (and I think in Holland too) people often actually accompany the words with a knock on the (preferably unpainted) underside of a table top.    Piotr
 
People here say in the same situations "hout vasthouden" [ha:t vastha:v&] and don't knock but hold the table or so (yes, unpainted wood). I had never heard the expression until I moved to where I live now where it's very frequent (Putte, only 20 km from where I used to live, Herentals) .
 
Marc