When the topic of superstitions comes up, people often mention not jinxing it. This expression has been around for decades, but few people know where it originated or what it means.
The term jinx can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a noun, jinx refers to something or someone that brings bad luck to other people, objects, or situations. However, when used as a verb, jinx means to cause lousy luck through your actions by saying things like you hope your team will win because you don’t want to jinx it.
Let’s talk about ‘jinx.’
When people say ‘jinx,’ they are referring to a magical belief that if you talk about something positively, it will not happen.
This does not mean that if you say something negative about an event or outcome, it will happen – people often feel that saying, please don’t let [thing I do not want] happen!
Or asking for [thing I want] to happen makes them more likely to come true. This is incorrect.
Saying positive things about something terrible happening or good things happening can make them less likely.
It’s called counter-jinxing, and it’s based on an old superstition that is similar to Murphy’s Law. Whatever you think about it tends to happen.
So by thinking positively about something wrong or good things happening (for example), your brain might be tricked into thinking it won’t occur and therefore doesn’t need to take action for those events not to occur.
So if someone says Don’t jinx it! They’re just trying to protect themselves from any potential disappointment. And while we’re on the subject.
Jinxed means unlucky or cursed. If you’ve been jinxed, something terrible has happened to you due to some magic spell being cast on you.
In other words, if everything goes wrong after hearing someone say Don’t jinx it! Then perhaps there was some magic involved, Or maybe there was some truth behind what they said;
Either way, avoid saying anything positive when talking about something terrible happening because no matter how hard you try to convince yourself otherwise, there’s always a chance that what happens next will be influenced by what comes out of your mouth.
The origins of ‘jinx.’
According to superstition, a curse can befall a person if they utter words like good luck or break a leg.
Most people are familiar with these phrases and their translations; according to superstition, uttering an unlucky phrase will bring about its opposite.
In other words, saying something like I hope you don’t get hurt today, will make you more susceptible to getting injured. However, according to superstition.
there are several different kinds of jinxes:
- A person can be jinxed.
- An action can be a jinx.
- One could even suffer from a plague of jinxes.
- So, don’t say it if you don’t want bad things to happen!
To prevent bad luck and ensure good fortune instead, avoid saying specific phrases that are thought to bring negative energy into your life.
If you want to be on good terms with fate, steer clear of any ill-fated words and phrases; for example: don’t say: good luck!
Instead, say: I hope everything goes well for you today! You may think it’s silly to do so, but these adages have some truth. You never know what might happen if you accidentally slip up and let one of them slip out!
How people have used it
Most often, people use jinx to mean bad luck. However, people also use it to mean that doing something might make good things happen in a way that’s not deserved or planned.
For example, if you’re a girl who just got an email from her dream guy and then said out loud I don’t want to jinx it, you’re saying two things: firstly, you’re worried about bad luck, and secondly, you feel like your success is so unlikely that talking about it might make good things go away.
So, when someone says Don’t jinx it, they’re telling you that they think their success is undeserved (or at least uncertain), and they don’t want to risk losing it by celebrating too early.
This can be especially true for athletes – think about how often a player will say he doesn’t want to talk about his performance after scoring a goal because he doesn’t want to jinx himself!
It’s essentially superstition masquerading as common sense; we worry our good fortune will change if we acknowledge it.
Why you shouldn’t say ‘jinx.’
Saying you’ll do your best not to say anything that might cause a good thing is like saying you want a positive outcome but don’t want to put in any effort.
Saying things like, I promise I won’t jinx it! It can bring bad luck to something that’s already going well.
The worst part: When something terrible happens, people try to excuse themselves by saying they didn’t mean it to happen and that they were only joking around.
Our advice Don’t be superstitious and don’t joke about how much you want things to go well, and most importantly, work hard for what you want! If you get lucky along the way, great.
But don’t rely on luck alone to get there. If you have worked hard and still failed, then at least know that failure was a step along your path to success.
Conclusion
From personal experience, a jinx refers to a negative influence. No one knows where and when the jinx originated, but most agree that it has something to do with sailors. Some people think that the jinx comes from jingoism, the belief that sailors always return home safely (from their voyages).
Since few sailors returned home alive during early times, those who did were considered to have been blessed by good luck (and thus were called jinxes). Another theory suggests that jinx may have come about as a variation of the French word gigue, which means being under someone’s protection or care.
Tags: What Is The Meaning Of "Don't Jinx It"
