Sir Thomas Browne noted that sitting cross-legged, or with the fingers locked together, was thought unlucky, and friends would warn you off it. Others took it the opposite way. Thomas Park said schoolboys sat cross-legged as a charm to save a friend from a flogging they both dreaded, and he had caught card players doing it to bring themselves luck.
Sitting cross-legged
Printed under 7 December
Lore and belief
To sit cross-legged I have always understood was intended to produce good or fortunate consequences.
From Hone's Year Book, col. 1440. Read the original
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