Anderton Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 I never knew where this came from! But Jonathan Lipp at Full Compass is putting together a glossary that includes theater terms, and asked me to look it over. Well, it's full of terms I never knew, and now the veil of ignorance has been lifted from my eyes: A good luck saying from Vaudeville where "breaking the leg" (the narrow curtain at the side of the stage) meant getting on stage, which meant getting paid. Okay, so y'all knew that. I didn't. I didn't know what BFL stood for, either...and I found out "Send in the clowns" comes from sending in clowns when something went wrong in a circus or rodeo, to keep the audience engaged. Always new things to learn...! Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Always new things to learn...! indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 BFL is new to me, a quick search and I still don't know what you mean BFL Bass Fishing League (sponsored By Wal-Mart) BFL Butterfly Labs (Leawood, KS) BFL Bat for Lashes (musician) BFL Body for Life BFL Baltijos Fotografijos Linija (Lithuanian: Baltic Line Photography) BFL Bios Feature List BFL Buffer Warning Level BFL Bay Ferries Limited (Canada) BFL Bag for Life (environment) BFL Bharat Forge Ltd. (Pune, India) BFL Big Fat Liar BFL Breakfast for Learning (Canada) BFL Back Focal Length BFL Birds in Forested Landscapes (Cornell University program) BFL Brothers for Life BFL Bakersfield, CA, USA - Meadows Field (Airport Code) BFL Business/Foreign Language (various organizations) BFL Barbados Farms Ltd. BFL Big Fat Lotto (lottery) BFL Brain Functions Laboratory (Japan) BFL Brigade Française Libre (French: Free French Brigade) BFL Banned for Life BFL Break For Lunch BFL Bomb Fall Line BFL Buffered Field-Effect-Transistor Logic BFL Board Failure Light BFL Black Flag Labs (brand; UK) BFL Bursa Fen Lisesi (Turkey science school) BFL Breast Firm and Lactating BFL Bakery Future Lines (Italy) BFL Best Friend for Life BFL Beamforming Lens BFL Brian Farrington Ltd (UK) BFL Betwin Foodball League (France) BFL Bibliothèque Freudienne de Limoges (French psychology association; Limoges, France) BFL Bundesamt für Landestopografie (Swiss Federal Office of Topography) Quote Bob "Notes" Norton Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Style and Fake disks for Band-in-a-Box The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursers Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 I didn't know that was the origin of 'break a leg', very interesting. I'd always been told it was a funny way of wishing luck by stating one of the worst things that could happen to you whilst performing. Which given what a cynical bunch creative types could be, didn't surprise me Quote The Keyboard Chronicles Podcast Check out your fellow forumites in an Apple Music playlist Check out your fellow forumites in a Spotify playlist My Music: Stainless Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 BFL is new to me, a quick search and I still don't know what you mean Well given that it's a theatrical term, it stands for "Big F****** Light." FYI - F****** does NOT stand for "fishing." Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysexguy Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 and the equivalent in French "Merde" "The history of "merde" begins in 19th-century Paris, when patrons of the Paris Opéra Ballet would arrive at the Palais Garnier in horse-drawn carriages. If there was a full house, there was sure to be a lot of horse manure in front of the theater. Saying "merde" became a way to tell your fellow dancers to have a good show for the packed audience. According to Rhodes-Stevens, "When dancers say 'merde' to one another, they are wishing each other a full and approving audience."" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderton Posted September 6, 2020 Author Share Posted September 6, 2020 "When dancers say 'merde' to one another, they are wishing each other a full and approving audience."" No sh*t! Quote Craig Anderton Educational site: http://www.craiganderton.org Music: http://www.youtube.com/thecraiganderton Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/craig_anderton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 "When dancers say 'merde' to one another, they are wishing each other a full and approving audience."" No sh*t! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveCoscia Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Completely unrelated to this thread (it's how my brain works)..... Seeing Send In The Clowns reference above reminds me of the "Six By Sondheim" DVD. I probably watch that movie at least twice annually. Never gets old. Quote Steve Coscia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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