The "santong" in "santong kkaeda" is easily mistaken for the labor pains (産痛) of childbirth, but it is an entirely different word. Here "santong" is written 算筒 — san (算, to count) plus tong (筒, canister) — the container that held the divining rods (sanmok) used to tell fortunes. An old fortune-teller would shake this canister, draw out a rod, and read the divination written on it to interpret good or ill luck. But what happens if, mid-shake, the canister slips from the hand and shatters on the ground? The rods scatter everywhere, and no fortune can be read. The whole reading, all set up and ready, is wrecked in an instant. From this, "to break the santong" came to mean "to spoil something just as it was about to come together."