Indian sign

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Indian sign (plural Indian signs)

1. (idiomatic, dated, mildly offensive) A curse causing loss of will power or persistent bad luck.
   • 1913, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 12, in The Little Nugget:

     "You certainly are my jinx, sonny. You have hung the Indian sign on me all right."

   • 1921, Arthur B. Reeve, chapter 6, in The Film Mystery:

     "We have been jinxed with a vengeance. Some one has held the Indian sign on us for sure."

   • 1947, Dark Passage (motion picture), Warner Brothers:

     Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart): Nah, I've got the Indian sign on me. It seems I can't win.

   • 1996, Mario Puzo, The Last Don, →ISBN, p. 83 (Google preview):

     "You're the only woman who ever had the Indian sign on me. I married late and I know I'll never marry again."

   • 2018 June 25, David Hytner, "Mikel aiming to turn tables 13 years after Messi took his Golden Ball", The Guardian

     Argentina have held an Indian sign over Nigeria at World Cups going back to 1994, when the African nation first qualified.

• curse, hex, hoodoo, jinx, spell

• Indian sign at OneLook Dictionary Search