> Knocking on wood was about knocking on unpainted wood, so that you have actual direct physical contact with wood.
replyHow do you know this? For example, there is a wikipedia page section entitled "Origin of use in the English language"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocking_on_wood#Origin_of_use...
but the contents of that section make it extremely clear that no relevant facts are known to wikipedia.
I know it from Polish usage. In Polish it's "odpukać w niemalowane [drewno]"/"knocking on unpainted [wood]", wood is typically not spoken, the important part is that the wood is unpainted/raw. Superstitious people would especially leave the underside of table unpainted or leave some unpainted wood nearby in living room just for this occasion.
replyThe contents of the article make it clear that "touch wood" is basically synonymous with "knock on wood," making the knocking less important than the touching.
replyBut is is important to mention that a ctrl-f on that page for "unpainted" is proof that you didn't spend much time looking.
Do you have reason to believe that the article knows something about the origin of this practice that no one else in the world knows? The claim is set in the past, not the present. And it has to be, since there is no present significance to unpainted wood in English-speaking cultures.
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