“Keep Your Fingers Crossed” means hope strongly that something happens in the desired way. This guide focuses on the documented modern idiomatic meaning and does not claim an unsupported exact origin date.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
It means to hope strongly that something turns out the way you want.
Key details
Canonical Formkeep your fingers crossed
Core Meaninghope strongly that something happens in the desired way
Further guidance
Contextual Examples
“The permit should arrive tomorrow—keep your fingers crossed.”
“Approval is guaranteed” is much stronger than the idiom and should not be substituted without evidence.
History Boundary
This guide establishes the documented modern meaning and does not claim an exact inventor, coinage date, or absolute first use.
Meaning
Hope strongly that something happens in the desired way.
Meaning Boundary
It expresses hope rather than a plan, promise, guarantee, or evidence-based forecast.
Practical Use
Use it to express hope that a desired result occurs, especially when the outcome is uncertain and not fully under your control.
Tone Boundary
Friendly and informal; in formal reporting, state the uncertainty directly rather than using the idiom as analysis.
Usage Boundary
Use the expression where its documented figurative meaning fits; do not treat a plausible origin story as established history without stronger evidence.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
“Keep Your Options Open” means to delay a final choice so that different possibilities remain available. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not add unsupported origin chronology.
“Golden opportunity” means an exceptionally good or valuable chance to do or achieve something. This guide stays with the current documented sense and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
A “long shot” is something you try even though success is unlikely, or a possibility with a low chance of happening. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not add unsupported origin chronology.
“Saved by the bell” describes a last-minute reprieve from a difficult situation. The reviewed history supports boxing usage in the late nineteenth century and finds no evidence that the phrase originated with bells attached to safety coffins.
“By the skin of your teeth” means succeeding only by a very small margin. It highlights a near failure or narrow escape, and this guide keeps that modern meaning separate from unverified origin chronology.
A crossed market occurs when the best bid to buy is higher than the best offer to sell. A crossed market is distinct from a locked market and can make an NBBO unreliable for some execution-quality calculations; do not use the terms interchangeably.
The proverb warns against treating an uncertain future success as if it were already secured. It is useful when someone is spending, scheduling, promising, or celebrating on the assumption that an unresolved outcome will go their way.
The idiom points to an incompatibility: someone wants the benefit of one choice without giving up the conflicting benefit of another. It is often used to expose a trade-off that the speaker thinks cannot simply be avoided.
