In Yiddish the word for jinx is kaynahora. Kaynahora is roughly similar to “knock on wood” and is often spoken to ward off a jinx after praise or good news. Kaynahora is a contraction of three Yiddish words: kayn ayin hara, literally not (kayn) the evil (hara) eye (ayin). Essentially, kaynahora is a word that one uses when they want to ward off the evil eye. I find myself using the word quite often.

This weekend I read  an interview in the Sunday Times with of one of the producers of “Homeland,” who said that, while the main characters this season will be residing in New York, they will not be telling a story about a terrorist attack in New York. In explaining why they decided not to tell a story about a terrorist attack in New York, I was surprised that the producer of the show stated,   “It’s bad karma for one thing. . .”

Bad karma or a kaynahora? Do you try to ward off the evil eye?