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Origin: An old saying in theater circles. Meaning: A poor final dress rehearsal could mean a successful opening night as issues are identified and fixed.

Origin: Giving flowers before the performance is believed to invite complacency and bad luck. Meaning: Flowers should be given after a performance to celebrate success.

Origin: Lighting three candles onstage; two candles are supposed to be good luck, and a third can mean bad luck. Meaning: To ward off bad luck by not having three candles lit at once.

Origin: Similar to the three candles superstition; lighting exactly three candles is historically considered bad luck. Meaning: Avoids the number three to prevent bad luck.

Origin: Peacock feathers are thought to be bad luck because of the 'evil eye' pattern on the feather. Meaning: Avoiding peacock feathers can prevent bad luck and misfortune in a performance.

Origin: The play is believed to be cursed, and saying its name in a theater can bring bad luck. Meaning: Refer to the play as 'The Scottish Play' instead to avoid the curse.

Origin: Knitting could cause knots or tangles in the thread to be transferred to the relationships or production itself. Meaning: Avoid knitting to prevent a 'tangled' production.

Origin: In the past, cues for theatre technicians were given by whistles. Whistling could accidentally cue a technician. Meaning: Avoid whistling to prevent mishaps in cues.

Origin: Possibly from the act of bending one's leg to take a bow or referencing back to understudies 'breaking' the line of the leg as they go on stage. Meaning: A euphemism for wishing an actor good luck without saying the words 'good luck', which is considered bad luck.

Origin: Not cleaning the stage before a performance is considered bad luck. Meaning: Cleaning the stage is seen as an act of respect that can bring good luck to a performance.

Origin: Directly wishing an actor 'good luck' is ironically believed to bring bad luck. Meaning: Using alternative phrases like 'break a leg' to avoid jinxing the performance.

Origin: Birds, particularly pigeons, in the theater are thought to foreshadow death or bad luck. Meaning: Removing birds from the theater to avoid ill omens.

Origin: A light is left on stage when the theater is empty to appease the ghosts. Meaning: It is also a safety feature to prevent people from falling into the orchestra pit.

Origin: Once thought to be bad luck due to difficult-to-dye fabrics causing financially struggling theaters to fold. Meaning: Now disregarded, but some still avoid these colors or pair them with silver for good luck.