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Superstition, if you drop a knife someone else must pick it up

31 replies

00Sassy · 07/09/2019 21:58

I’ve just come up to bed for my early night, DP called up to me to nip down again to pick up a knife he’s dropped while preparing his supper.
I went straight down and picked it up, we certainly don’t need to be inviting any bad fortune to this house!
This is normal in our house, does anyone else know about this ‘rule’?

OP posts:
superram · 07/09/2019 22:01

I think I’m really substitutes but never heard of this and it’s a bit impractical.

superram · 07/09/2019 22:01

Superstitious even

TheJellyBabyMadeMeDoIt · 07/09/2019 22:02

My mum drives me bloody mental with that.

One time she dropped a knife and my then-toddler DD was inbetween me and mum, I was too far to get there before DD.

Mum looked at me and signalled for me to get the knife, I was appalled. I said "pick it up before DD gets to it!!!" and she was in shock that she had to pick it up as it was "bad luck" so I explained the only bad luck would come from DD getting to it first.

Mum is a very intelligent, usually sensible person.

NannyR · 07/09/2019 22:06

How does that work if you live on your own? Do I just leave the knife on the floor for a couple of days until someone visits?

tallglassof · 07/09/2019 22:09

utter codswallop Confused

thenightsky · 07/09/2019 22:09

Never heard that one before.

But when I was little, if someone dropped a knife, my granny would always say 'oooh there's a man coming'. If a fork was dropped... 'ooh there's a woman coming'.

I never got a reply to my question of what dropping a spoon meant! Grin

Didyoujustbreak · 07/09/2019 22:13

That's a load of bollocks and I would be telling him to pick up his own knife.

However, I always close toilet seats in my house because according to feng shui (does anyone remember that???) it loses you money. And now I worry about being broke if I leave my toilet seat open 🙄.

Didyoujustbreak · 07/09/2019 22:14

(I'm broke anyway but I worry about being on the streets broke if I leave the kid up.
Fuck sake.)

00Sassy · 07/09/2019 22:15

It’s weird isn’t it?! My brother also lives alone and manages to pick up his own dropped knives without any issues..

OP posts:
CantspellWontspell · 07/09/2019 22:15

Do these things only kick in if you know about them because for real, I've never heard that in 40 odd years and im pretty sure none of my knife picking upness has opened a portal to hell, or owt.

fromthefloorboardsup · 07/09/2019 22:16

Ha @NannyR I was wondering this as I live alone!

ImportantWater · 07/09/2019 22:17

I thought if you dropped a knife you had to throw salt over your left shoulder to blind the devil. Or have I made that up?

Fortheloveofscience · 07/09/2019 22:18

No you’re wrong OP - if you drop a knife you’re having a visitor, and you have to them touch the knife on wood to make sure it’s a good visitor Grin. As much as I know it’s bollocks, I can’t help touching dropped knives on wood Blush.

Mollypolly2610 · 07/09/2019 22:18

Drop a knife a man is coming, drop a glove someone else must pick it up.
Always close the toilet lid to stop your money being flushed away.

00Sassy · 07/09/2019 22:19

@Didyoujustbreak
I close toilet seats too, for the same reason...also still broke! Hmm

OP posts:
Soola · 07/09/2019 22:22

Never give a knife as a house-warming present; your new neighbor will become an enemy.

A knife given as a gift from a lover means the love will end soon.

Place a knife under the bed during childbirth to ease the pain of labour.

If a friend gives you a knife, give him a penny. This turns the gift into a purchase and will prevent your friendship from soon being broken.

Don’t let knives cross at the table, it will start a fight.

It‘s bad luck to close a pocket knife unless you were the one who opened it.

You should always cut bread with a knife rather than breaking it with your hands. It’s said that your life will be broken otherwise.

Never hand a knife directly to another person. It’s said this will cause the two of you to get into a fight.

Thrusting a knife into the door of a house is believed to provide protection.

If you play with a knife, the angels will run away from you. (Romania)

A dropped knife means a man will visit.

A dropped knife that sticks into the ground is a good sign. Good luck will come from the direction in which the knife is leaning. (In another superstition, a dropped knife is a bad sign).

Do not leave crossed knives on the counter top or there will be an argument! (Ireland)

Knife sets shouldn’t be given as wedding gifts because they can cause chaos in a marriage.

Putting a knife with a black handle under your pillow is believed to keep away nightmares. (Greece)

Never stir anything with your knife. "Stir with a knife and stir up strife".

A knife made of steel is said to protect you against curses and fairies.

Some people believe that sharpening any blade after the sun goes down is bad luck.

Sleeping on a bed with knives under it will scare away evil spirits. (China)

Knives were included in some Anglo-Saxon burial rites, so that the dead would not go into the next world defenceless.

Never cross your knife and fork on your plate at the table. It’s considered an insult to the symbol of the cross. (Italy)

In some culture’s it’s believed that sticking a knife in a pregnant woman’s mattress guarantees she’ll have a boy.

Never lick food off a knife. Doing so will make you a cruel person. (Russia)

Eating from a knife will make you “angry like a dog”. (Russia)

........

🙄

Ontheboardwalk · 07/09/2019 22:22

I thought if you dropped a knife you have to step on it before you pick it up.

That’s what my mother told me but she was always making up weird superstitions

BobTheFishermansWife · 07/09/2019 22:23

Never heard that one, but I've been brought up with spilt salt gets tossed over the left shoulder to blind the devil, not sure if you've mixed 2 superstitions @ImportantWater

LazyFace · 07/09/2019 22:24

I also close the toilet lid. It's only practical as I don't like washing loo liquid of the cat....
It's the 21st century and people still believe in this kind of stuff. Amazing.

moolady1977 · 07/09/2019 22:26

I always thought it was if you dropped a knife you had to stand on it before picking it up, salt was if you spilled any you had to throw some over your left shoulder, another salt one is you can't pass it directly to anyone else you have to put it down and they have to pick it up and also you shouldn't take salt from house-to-house, there are loads of superstitions that my parents told me and some have me shaking my head

MerlinsScarf · 07/09/2019 22:34

I also close the loo lid! It was originally thanks to the 90s feng shui obsession but actually it's great, if you drop something in the bathroom it doesn't fall down the toilet. So I suppose I've saved plumber's fees and the cost of replacement items?

PancakeAndKeith · 07/09/2019 22:36

I have a friend who is from India. We were talking about the various Christmas traditions and superstitions. I told her about having to take down decorations before 12th night or it’s bad luck. She said ‘but who brings the bad luck?’ It was a fair point and I’ve not been superstitious since.

(She was also rather confused about Father Christmas. I told her about leaving out mince pies and whiskey for him but your dad eats it. She was shocked and said ‘you eat the offering for your god?)

Didyoujustbreak · 08/09/2019 07:38

you eat the offering for your god?

That's brilliant!

BStrange · 30/12/2022 01:38

A spoon dropped means a child shall visit

LipsSoScarlet · 30/12/2022 01:45

I’m not aware of this one and I live alone so it feels impractical. I only recently stopped putting the toilet seat down when flushing. It’s made no difference to my financial feng shui, I’m still skint, but it was drummed in to me as a child that I would cause poverty to my family if I didn’t put it down.