Czech translation - Break a leg

yes - i am used this use of this expression both in czech and in english rather that as a wish for good luck


now as far as the "na drevo" bit in czech - i have oft been corrected that when you do knock on something as reassurance (if that is the right word) you should knock on something that doesn't burn, i.e., teeth, metal, etc. - but not wood - are ther regional differences?? both me mum from kladno and me dad from vysocina used wood... i live in south bohemia, and wood here does not seem to be popular

 

It may be locally different, but I have never heard this about something different than wood.
As a joke it is often knocked on your own head "like a wood". 8)

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm quite sure that I had once read that we are wrong when we say 'knock on wood' in this context. The full saying is:

Knock on wood, no good
Knock on iron, rely on

So maybe this ties in with what Meluzina said. However, I always use knock on wood, and like Karel, I knock on my head if there's no wood around