wishing bone
1
8.9
- noun
- /ˈwɪʃɪŋ boʊn/
- Literature
:
hueso de la suerte
- She carefully cleaned the wishing bone and set it aside to dry.
Examples
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They pulled the wishing bone apart for good luck.
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Traditionally, two people make a wish and snap the wishing bone to see whose wish comes true.
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After dinner, the children argued over who would get to pull the wishing bone.
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The wishing bone is considered a symbol of good luck.
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During Thanksgiving dinner, we each pulled apart the wishing bone hoping our wishes would come true.
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The children eagerly grabbed the wishing bone after the roast chicken was served.
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As part of the holiday tradition, they shared the wishing bone and made their secret wishes.
Synonyms
14
5.6
A forked bone in a chicken's chest that children pull to make wishes
Two collar bones join to form a small V-shaped bone that helps birds fly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'wish' + 'bone' makes it reasonably clear that this is a bone associated with wishes, so a B1 learner who knows both words can likely guess it is a bone used for making wishes. However, the specific referent (the bird furcula) and the cultural practice of pulling it apart for luck are not predictable from the parts alone, so full understanding requires prior cultural or lexical exposure.
Etymology
Wishing bone is the forked bone from a chicken or turkey that people used to break after a meal. One person would get the longer piece and their 'wish' was thought to come true, so the bone became a small lucky object for making a 'wish'.