Where did the term 'knock on wood' come from? As we all know, the phrase, also known as 'touch wood', is commonly used to ward off bad luck once one's good fortune has been acknowledged. For example, one may say, "My delivery team hasn't had any traffic incidents in 4 months...knock on wood." That person may then actually search for a piece of wood and knock on it.
The brief research that I did indicates that the origin is unknown but may be derived from Christian and/or Pagan beliefs. The Christian derivative comes from the touching a wooden cross. The Pagan version comes from good or evil spirits in trees that either could or could not hear a statement made while knocking on wood.
I took the time to look this up because it's something I was curious about and I wanted something to blog about. However, I had a thought while typing this: What if I made something up? What if I completely fabricated an origin right here right now? Some people search for answers, some people search for truth, and some people don't know the difference.
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