to cross the hand
Preserved but no longer current.
Gypsy fortune-tellers always bid their dupe to "cross their hand with a bit of silver." This, they say, is for luck. The silver remained with the owner of the crossed hand. The sign of the cross warded off witches and all other evil spirits, and, as fortune-telling belongs to the black arts, the palm is signed with a cross to keep off the wiles of the devil.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to cross the hand” mean?
Gypsy fortune-tellers always bid their dupe to "cross their hand with a bit of silver." This, they say, is for luck. The silver remained with the owner of the crossed hand. The sign of the cross warded off witches and all other evil spirits, and, as fortune-telling belongs to the black arts, the palm is signed with a cross to keep off the wiles of the devil.
Is “to cross the hand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.