“In bocca al lupo”, the Italian good luck

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If Italians have to wish good luck for example for an exam or a test, they never use “auguri” that means in this case misfortune, but they say “in bocca al lupo“. This is a superstition expression that we say to avoid an anwished event, in fact to go into a mouth of a wolf means get in trouble. The interlocutor has to reply crepi il lupo (and absolutely not grazie).

The origin of this idiom is uncertain, perhaps it is originated from the rural world, where  the wolf  was considered a dangerous animal and its killing was considered a prestigious act.

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