Fingers Crossed

 

Fingers Crossed 

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Meaning:

Fingers Crossed is a phrase one uses to express the hope that something comes to pass, or that someone is blessed with good luck. 

Physically crossing your fingers and placing them behind your back is a sign of lying, this is not to be confused with the act of saying “fingers crossed” 

Origin:

This phrase fingers crossed has a long connection with Christianity where It was used back in 1600s in the Courts of Mosaic law also known as law of Moses where judges would render verdicts with the phrase "May God have mercy upon your soul" this was to reaffirm God's supreme authority over the law. Most judges felt that while they could pass a sentence of death upon a person, they personally did not have the authority to destroy souls and that only God had the authority to do that. As a result, some judges would cross their fingers whenever they said the phrase as a result of concern for the criminal's soul as they said it as a prayer and as a way to invoke the power associated with Christ's cross.

As time went on it changed to people crossing fingers or making the sign of the cross to ward off evil, as well as when people coughed or sneezed.

The first written record was in 1787 in A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions by Francis Grose it talks about the physical act of crossing your fingers not the phrase fingers crossed it gave advice: 

As a recommendation to keep one's fingers crossed until one sees a dog to avert the bad luck attracted by walking under a ladder. 

Example:

As time went on this phrase became away of wishing others good luck or a promising outcome, to tell people “I have my fingers crossed for you” an example of how we use it today is:

“He now has his fingers crossed for good weather on that day.” 

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