The Archive

Etymology Journal ยท C

Cross your fingers

Meaning

To hope for good luck or for a specific outcome to happen. It is often accompanied by the physical gesture of crossing the index and middle fingers.

Hopeful, superstitious

Used in a sentence

  • I am waiting to hear back from the hiring manager, so keep your fingers crossed for me.
  • Cross your fingers that the rain holds off until after the wedding.
  • We crossed our fingers and hoped the engine would start.

The backstory

It likely stems from early Christian traditions of making the sign of the cross to ward off evil. Over time, it evolved into a secular good luck gesture.

Heard in

Nationwide

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