Ни пуха ни пера!

[Nastique]

В словаре даются значения, которые, как мне кажется, не очень подходят к такой ситуации, когда студенту в нашей стране перед экзаменом желают "ни пуха, ни пера"!
Подскажите, пожалуйста, как можно пожелать что-то такого на экзамен native speaker'у. Заранее спасибо. И вообще, принято ли у них так. :)

[POGOS]

Dumau, good luck-a budet vpolne dostatochno:)

[суслик]

break your leg

[Nastique]

та я тоже так думала, но, возможно есть какой-нить варик, чтоб выпендриться. Good luck - если ничего больеш не посоветуют. Break your leg - страшно желать :)

[Скай]

break A leg

[Alexis a.k.a. Althea]

Для начала, Break A leg - не конкретно свою, а так просто.

Good luck - более нейтрально.

[POGOS]

:))))
2суслик
Eto vi serioZdno, est takoe virajenie sxojee nashemu ne puxa?

[суслик]

скажите break A leg, i mean good luck

[Аристарх]

good luck!

[Nastique]

спасибо, Break a leg - победил по очкам! :)

[суслик]

Pogos, в фильме Quantum Leap что ли это даже обыгрывалось, когда герою пожелали break a leg перед тем как выйти на сцену, и он свалился в оркестровую яму:)

[POGOS]

Vo budet nomer esli inozemec ne poimet:)))

[POGOS]

2суслик
Xopa, a ia dumal vi shutite. Nikogda takoe ne slishal!

[Аристарх]

Знал я одного полковника в военной академии, который давал такое напутствие курсантам перед экзаменом: "Ни пуха ни пера, и пятёрок ни х***ра!"
:-)))

[суслик]

Pogos, но наше к черту - тоже будет звучать интерсно для их уха

[POGOS]

Mne toje v golovu pervoe prishlo k Break a leg, eshe i arms-i dobavit:)

[Аристарх]

**скажите break A leg, i mean good luck**

Не лучше ли просто good luck?

Это неизвестно откуда взявшееся "break а leg" не факт, что поймут

[Nastique]

Вот, что мне только что сказал native speaker, вылезший в онлайн: it is usually used to wish luck to someone before a performance. Так что не подходит, наверное, break a leg!

[POGOS]

2суслик
Soglasen, no break a leg ei bogu smeshno, eto UK-ovci ili US-ovci upotreblaut?

[nephew]

Most of us know the word пух from the expression ни пуха ни пера, which literally means "not a bit of down, nor a single feather," and is said when wishing someone good luck. This as a classic example of Russian superstition: so as not to jinx a hunt, you wish the hunters bad shooting. Lest you think this is one of those odd Russian folk rituals, it's good to recall the standard American wish for good luck: Break a leg!
(Берди, наше всё)

[Nastique]

у меня есть статья откуда взялось break a leg. Но сюда постить ее - неприлично :)

[Аристарх]

Фигню ваш native speaker сморозил

[POGOS]

Vo kak!
Teper nujno viasnit znakomi ne Britanec-li, a to on ne poimet:)))

[суслик]

Pogos, судя по всему вторые

[POGOS]

2nastique
Pochemu? Davaite! Uveren vsex eto interesuet!
XLEBA! ZRELISH!

[суслик]

ну почему же фигню... в квантовом скачке именно перед спектаклем...
nastique - запостите плиз

[Скай]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_a_leg

[POGOS]

otlichno..............

[Nastique]

Мой вариант: ссылки нет, это рассылка.
Break a leg
Meaning
Said to actors for good luck before they go on stage, especially on an opening nights.
Origin
Theatrical types are well-known for their belief in superstitions, or at least for their willingness to make a show of pretending to believe them. The term 'break a leg' appears to come from the belief that one ought not to utter the words 'good luck' to an actor. By wishing someone bad luck, it is supposed that the opposite will occur. Other superstitions are that is is bad luck to whistle in a theatre, to say the final line of a play during dress rehearsal, or to say the name of 'the Scottish Play' in a theatre's green room.
The word 'break' has many meanings - the OED lists 57 distinct uses of it as a verb alone. That gives considerable scope for speculation over what is meant by the phrase. The most common interpretation of 'break' in this context is, 'to deviate from a straight line', as in the cricketing term, 'off break'. That is, unstraighten the leg by bending at the knee, by bowing or curtseying.
'Break a leg' also means, 'make a strenuous effort'. There are many references to the phrase used that way, which pre-date the earliest theatrical good luck charm meaning. For example, from The Hammond Times, Indiana, 1942:
"Whatever the army or navy want, the Continental Roll [and Steel Foundry] will turn out ... Or break a leg trying."
From the Evening State Journal, Nebraska, 1937:
"With all the break-a-leg dancing there are many who still warm to graceful soft shoe stepping."
So, it is possible that when an actor is told to 'break a leg', he/she may just be being exhorted to put on an energetic, exciting performance.
There are many other possible derivations in circulation, mostly referring to the 'good luck' message. In diminishing order of plausibility, 'break a leg' these are:

° Put on a performance good enough that you will have to bend your knee in a bow or curtsey to acknowledge the applause.
° Impress the audience so much that you will need to bend down to pick up the coins they throw onto the stage.
° Pass out onto the stage to receive a curtain call (the side curtains on a stage are known as legs).
° Go on stage and have your 'big break'.
° Evoke the powers of the celebrated actress Sarah Bernhardt, who had one leg.
° A reference to John Wilkes Booth, who broke his leg when jumping on stage, attempting to flee after shooting President Lincoln.
It is tempting to believe the phrase to be ancient and to imagine it whispered to Tudor minstrels as they went on stage at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. There was an earlier meaning of 'break a leg' of that vintage (1670), which was 'to give birth to a bastard'. This is now entirely out of use and is not related to the theatrical version. The current meaning is nothing like as old. The term originates in the American theatre in the 20th century and all the earliest references to its use are from US sources. The earliest citation we can find in print is from as late as 1948, from an edition of the US newspaper, the Charleston Gazette, in May that year. This is from their 'Ask The Gazette' column:
Q. What are some of the well-known superstitions of the theatre?
A. Superstitions of the stage are numerous and many are particular to individual actors and actresses. That it is bad luck to whistle in a dressing room is a widely accepted belief. Another is that one actor should not wish another good luck before a performance but say instead 'I hope you break a leg.'
That pretty much rules out the Sarah Bernhardt and John Wilkes Booth interpretations which, as well as being rather fanciful, date from too far before any printed version.
There is a German saying, 'Hals und Beinbruch', meaning 'break your neck and leg', which dates back to at least WWII, as Luftwaffe slang, and is therefore earlier than any known English version. It may be that this is a corruption of the Hebrew blessing, 'hatzlakha u-brakha', meaning 'success and blessing'.
German and Yiddish were commonly used languages of the large Jewish contingent of the US theatre world. We can't be certain of the origin of the phrase, but it's highly likely to have migrated to English from the earlier German and Hebrew versions.

[D-50]

небольшой ОФФ по поводу Wikipedia.

Только вчера читал в газете, что сайт Wikipedia ежедневно подвергается атакам, до нескольких тысяч в день. Информацию стирают, изменяют, добавлюят всяюкую фигню в политических целях, просто для прикола и т.п. То есть доверять на 100% сайту просто не стоит. тем более, что каждый без ограничений может вносить свои entries.

Поэтому основатель Wikipedia открывает новый сайт, где все это проделать будет сложнее. Подробнее читайте здесь:

http://citizendium.org/

[Shumov]

Пошарю-ка и я по своим закромам и сусекам!

break a leg!
A traditional theatrical greeting given before a performance, especially a first night, bеcause it is considered bad luck to wish anyone 'good luck' directly. Another version is snap a wrist! Partridge/Slang* has 'to break a leg' as 'to give birth to a bastard', dating from 17th century, but that is probably unconnected. As also is the fact that John Wilkes Booth, an actor, broke his leg after assassinating President Lincoln in a theatre. Morris** (1977) has it based on a german good luck expression, Hals und Beinbruch [May you break your neck and your leg]. Perhaps this entered theatrical speech (like several other expressions) via Yiddish.
[...]
Other theatrical expressions include merde! [French: shit!], TOY! TOY! and in bocca del lupo [Italian: into the wolf's jaws].

(Nigel Rees, A Word in your Shell-like)
_______________________________________
*Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
**William and Mary Morris, Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origin

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Д-50, думаю что не все ТАК уж плохо со старушкой Вики, но критический подход никогда не помешает. Это как в новостях Би-би-си: если инфа не от собкора, то пока новость не подтвердят как минимум два независимых информагенства (плюс, желательно, источник "на местах") в эфир не пущать. Закон.

Свежая статья про Википедию тут http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/10/28/ftwiki28.xml

[Shumov]

Пардон, статья не то чтобы "супер-свежая" (прошлые выхоодные), но наиболее обстоятельная.