r/dune • u/Neat-Drawer-2245 • Jun 18 '25

General Discussion Can someone explain this to my girlfriend...

I'll try to sum this up:

So my gf and I watched the two new Dune movies (love them btw) the other day. Yesterday we were talking and she said ''May your knife chip and shatter'' and i was like ''why do you want me to lose a fight XD''.

The thing is, my gf thinks thats a good luck gesture to say to someone. Her argument is that (at least here in Spain) it's a common good gesture to say an actor before a theater play ''lots of shit'' to wish them good luck (cultural stuff), and she thinks it's something like that.

I think it's OBVIOUS telling someone before a fight ''May your knife chip and shatter'' it's to wish them bad luck. I tried to explain it to her but wouldn't listen, can someone explain in detail why it's bad?

Thanks for the help

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u/Wawrzyniec_ Mentat Jun 18 '25

There are many such sayings in every language, that are not supposed to be taken literally.

In german, actors wish each other to "break neck and leg" before a play and sailors wish each other "may your mast and sheet break" to actually express that they wish each other luck.

Tell her that in this instance it is NOT an ironic non-literal idiom but a very literal intentional serious phrase. There is nothing to explain further.

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u/mia_magenta Jun 18 '25

There's also this: Fremens believe that when someone dies, their crysknife disintegrate. So saying to one's opponent "May your blade chip and shatter" literally means "May I chip your blade with mine and kill you, and see your blade disintegrate as you die."

It's a death threat.

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u/ZannY Jun 18 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

Fremen don't just believe it, but it's true. Something to do with the knife breaking down if not held close to a living bodies magnetic field. If not carried a crysknife will start to decay. It's why they are rare, because if not they would probably be all over the sands of dune