Knock on wood

Suggest a Correction

Meaning

Said, often while tapping wood, after mentioning good fortune or a hope for the future, as a playful or superstitious attempt to avoid bad luck. The wording is chiefly North American; British English usually has touch wood.

Origin

The English expressions are much more recent in the written record than their supposed ancient origins suggest. Touch wood is recorded in its superstitious sense by 1899, and the American knock on wood by 1905. An 1849 account of a children's tag game in which touching wood made a player safe offers possible background, but the exact development remains unknown. Stories about Druids, tree spirits, the wood of the Cross, or preventing the Devil from hearing are conjectures without evidence connecting them to the modern phrase.

Research Sources

  1. Touch Wood World Wide Words
  2. Touching wood and knocking wood American Dialect Society mailing list, Linguist List archive
  3. Knock on wood Cambridge Dictionary

Variants

  • Touch wood
  • Knock wood

Usage Examples

  • We have had no production failures this month, knock on wood.
  • The forecast says the rain will hold off for the ceremony, knock on wood.
  • Touch wood, the new treatment seems to be working.

Keep Exploring

Browse all phrases