Superstitions - and why we have them

In a delightful, entertaining book freshly researched and full of amusing surprises and revelations, Max Cryer explains the superstition origin of many customary things we commonly say and observe and continue to include in our lives: clinking glasses before drinking a toast; why thirteen is unlucky; saying ‘bless you’ after sneezing; which way to hang a horseshoe; saying ‘the Scottish play’, the bad reputation of opals, the Leap Year proposal; the possible (!) delaying of baldness; and the warning - "beware of that man, be he friend or brother, whose hair is one colour and moustache another." … so many aspects of our lives are coloured by superstition.

How do these have their origin in superstitions? Now you can discover - in a book that is both witty and informative.

Superstitions will provide many ‘Eureka’ moments and settle many family disputes.

Some people casually say ‘touch wood’ when they speak of something they hope will happen. Others won’t allow peacock feathers into the house. And almost anyone who finds a four-leafed clover will treasure it and keep it.


Superstitions  Exisle RRP $24.99. Photo courtesy of Exisle Publishing

Why? Some superstitions are so ancient and have been practised for so long that they have come to be regarded as just harmless and widely observed ‘customs’, without people realising they are basically superstitions. For instance, many people wouldn’t bother tossing spilled salt over their left shoulder or avoid walking under a ladder. But they happily continue to wear a wedding ring and blow out candles on a birthday cake. They don’t know why — ‘it’s just a custom’. But both are actually superstitions.

About the Author
Max Cryer is a well-known writer, broadcaster and entertainer, and remains a regular radio commentator and frequent television guest.

In a long career, he has been a schoolteacher, a compere and television host, as well as a performer on the opera stage in London and in cabaret in Las Vegas and Hollywood. Now a full-time writer living in Auckland, he has written many books, including The Cat’s Out of the Bag, Every Dog Has Its Day, Is It True?, Who Said That First?, Love Me Tender, The Godzone Dictionary, Preposterous Proverbs and Curious English Words and Phrases.