Indian sign

plural Indian signs

1. datedidiomaticmildlyoffensiveA curse causing loss of will power or persistent bad luck.

   "You certainly are my jinx, sonny. You have hung the Indian sign on me all right."

   1913, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 12, in The Little Nugget

   4 more examples

   "We have been jinxed with a vengeance. Some one has held the Indian sign on us for sure."

   1921, Arthur B. Reeve, chapter 6, in The Film Mystery

   Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart): Nah, I've got the Indian sign on me. It seems I can't win.

   1947, Dark Passage (motion picture), Warner Brothers

   "You're the only woman who ever had the Indian sign on me. I married late and I know I'll never marry again."

   1996, Mario Puzo, The Last Don, →ISBN, page 83

   Argentina have held an Indian sign over Nigeria at World Cups going back to 1994, when the African nation first qualified.

   2018 June 25, David Hytner, “Mikel aiming to turn tables 13 years after Messi took his Golden Ball”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: curse, hex, hoodoo, jinx, spell