On this show , we explore American idioms and expressions . We try to help you understand common expressions and how to use them in everyday speech . You know , at times in life , things just do not go our way . We all have days when nothing goes right . In fact , everything goes wrong . Mistakes , mishaps and misfortune seem to follow us around . If you have a long period of bad luck , you could say you are snakebit . Merriam-Webster online dictionary claims that this usage of “snakebit ” dates back to 1957 . It does not say much about the history of the word . But getting bit by any animal would not be a sign of good luck . So perhaps the root of the term is that simple . If you are snakebit for a really long period of time , you may start to think that you are jinxed . The word "jinx " can be either a noun or a verb . As a noun , a jinx leads to bad luck and misfortune . If you jinx something – the verb form – you bring bad luck to something or someone . A jinx is like a curse . You really believe that everything you do will turn out badly . Even if you don't believe in curses , just thinking that something bad will happen to you might make it happen . Now , let's hear how these terms are used by two friends at a basketball game . This has been a great game ! I wish our team would just score and pull ahead . Being tied is driving me crazy ! It's a good thing that I wore my lucky hat . What are talking about ? There is no such thing as luck . We just need to play better than the other team . Look , our team has been snakebit for weeks ! We've lost our last five games . So they need all the help they can get . There's no way we are going to lose this game . Don't jinx us . Quick…Knock on wood to break the jinx ! There's no such thing as a jinx and I will not hit a piece of wood or anything else . I'm not superstitious . Well , I am ! Maybe that will break the curse . You look foolish . Well , our team just scored ! Some sports lovers and many players are superstitious . It is a common part of the sporting culture . And we have a special word for players who are having a string of bad luck . We say they have the “yips .” Having the yips is a kind of nervous tension that affects the person's performance . For example , the baseball pitcher had a bad case of the yips . He could not find his strike zone . So his coach replaced him in the game with another player . Athletes and non-athletes alike can be snakebit . And some people just seem to be snakebit all the time . You could say , they are born under a bad sign . That means they were born during an unlucky time of the year . The "bad sign " in this expression relates to astrology . William Bell helped to write this song . He wanted to compose a blues song about astrology . If you were "born under a bad sign ," it means the stars were in a formation that have worked against you since birth . (This is also where we get the expression it just wasn't in the stars . But we'll save star expressions for another program !) Keep in mind , being snakebit is more than just one unlucky thing happening to you . So , getting dismissed from work can be an unlucky event . But if everything else in your life is going great , you would not say that you are snakebit . In order to be truly snakebit , you must have a series of failures or problems . Do you have an expression in your language about getting bit by a snake ?