Knock on Wood?

 Just the other night, in bed, Joyce asked me--when I used the expression knock on wood--if I knew where the expression had come from. I didn't--though I waxed wise about maybe Geppetto had been involved with that marionette he had created. (Our wee son used to call him "Pik-o-IK-o.") Pinocchio. (Yes, I spelled it right the first time!)

We speculated a little, then quit, and started streaming things.

But today I decided to learn what I could about the phrase. I checked our copy of the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins—and this is what I discovered:

• No one’s sure about the origin—but there are some theories.
• From the child’s game of tag—in one version touching a tree makes you “safe”?
• Does wood symbolize the cross in Christian belief?
• Does it go all the way back to ancient times when “druids and other spirits lived in trees”? Does knocking on a tree “summon up the aid of the good spirit within”?
• Is it an Irish belief that knocking on wood lets the leprechauns know you are thanking them for good luck?
• Does it go back to the Spanish Inquisition when Jews devised a door-knock code to ask for admission to safety?

These are all fun to consider. All I know is this: I not only say it but do it.

Oh, and I also know this: I prefer my own origin story—Geppetto knocking Pinocchio on the head when he told a lie. (And guess how Geppetto knew the wooden boy was lying?!?)