Superstitions connect everyday events with luck, warnings or hoped-for outcomes. In Britain, familiar examples range from touching wood to New Year visiting customs, but there is no single set of beliefs shared by everyone. These ten examples explain the cultural references without presenting them as facts about what causes good or bad fortune.
What's your English level?
Take the test and get your certificate!
Ten familiar superstitions and customs
1. Touching wood
After mentioning something fortunate, a person may say “touch wood” and touch a wooden surface. The gesture expresses a wish that the good situation will continue. You might hear, “The journey has been easy so far, touch wood.” The expression can be playful rather than a declaration of belief.
2. Crossing fingers
Crossed fingers can express hope for a favourable result, either as a gesture or in the phrase “fingers crossed.” “Fingers crossed for your interview” is a supportive expression. It does not predict the result or imply that preparation is unnecessary.
3. Avoiding a ladder
Walking under a ladder appears in familiar accounts of bad-luck beliefs. The superstition is separate from ordinary reasons to avoid passing beneath work or equipment. When discussing it, distinguish “People say it is unlucky” from a factual claim that the act causes an unrelated misfortune.
4. Breaking a mirror
A familiar version of this belief connects a broken mirror with seven years of bad luck. The number belongs to the saying, not to a demonstrated consequence. The phrase can appear as a joke after an accident. A retelling does not establish how many people believe it or where the custom began.
5. Spilling salt
Some versions treat spilled salt as unlucky and describe throwing a pinch over the left shoulder as a response. Details vary between accounts and families. Notice the difference between spill, an accidental action, and sprinkle, a deliberate scattering of a small amount.
6. Opening an umbrella indoors
Another familiar belief treats opening an umbrella inside a building as unlucky. People may remember the rule from childhood even when they do not take it literally. A useful comparison is between a household rule and a supernatural explanation. The same action can be discouraged for different reasons.
7. Black cats and luck
Black cats are not uniformly unlucky in British traditions. Some English accounts associate them with good luck, while beliefs differ between places and situations. The Museum of English Rural Life’s resource on superstitions discusses cats as an example of these associations. Avoid importing one country’s version as a universal rule.
8. Greeting a magpie
Some people greet or salute a lone magpie in connection with beliefs about luck. Rhymes and rituals surrounding the bird have multiple versions. If someone performs the gesture, ask about their version rather than assuming that a single explanation applies to everyone.
9. Friday the thirteenth
The combination of Friday and the number thirteen is associated with bad luck in a familiar superstition. It is also used in jokes and popular culture. Recognising the reference does not tell you whether the speaker believes it. Tone and context may indicate humour, unease or simple familiarity.
10. First-footing at New Year
In Scottish Hogmanay traditions, the first visitor after midnight can be associated with good fortune for the household. Gifts and preferred visitor characteristics vary by tradition. VisitScotland describes visiting friends and neighbours with gifts such as shortbread or coal. The custom also has a social role as a New Year visit.
Belief, habit and humour are different
A person can say “touch wood” automatically, make a joke about an unlucky date or seriously observe a family custom. The words alone do not establish which is happening. Avoid describing a whole population as superstitious because a phrase is familiar.
Origin stories also need care. A memorable explanation involving an ancient religion, a famous event or a symbolic number may be repeated without strong evidence. It is often more accurate to describe the recorded custom and acknowledge variation than to assign it one certain beginning.
Useful language for discussing traditions
| Expression | What it communicates |
|---|---|
| According to one version… | Other versions may exist. |
| It is said to bring good luck. | You are reporting a belief, not confirming it. |
| My family used to… | You are describing a particular family’s practice. |
| Some people still… | You are limiting the claim rather than applying it to everyone. |
| I do it out of habit. | The action may continue without a strong belief behind it. |
Read accounts in context
For examples from rural traditions, see the Museum of English Rural Life’s account of countryside superstitions. Google Arts & Culture’s overview places several familiar customs alongside examples from other countries. VisitScotland’s Hogmanay guide gives context for first-footing.
As an English exercise, describe a custom you know in four sentences: what people do, when they do it, what it is said to mean and whether practices vary. Use reporting language so that a tradition is not confused with a factual prediction. Compare two versions respectfully without assuming that either represents an entire country.
