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Abracadabra
Magic word used to help magician "make something happen". In reality, it is
derived from ancient cabalistic symbols and at one time was believed to hold real power.
The word may be derived from the Hebrew Ha-b'rakah,
meaning "the blessing" or "the sacred name". (Note: According to
information contributed by Hal Klegman: "In
Hebrew the word breaks down as:
Av Ra = Bad or Evil Father (Av is father)
k-deber = that speaks or says (pronounced duh-bear)
The phrase has a root and it is not just gibberish.") |
Ace
Either the playing card with a singular pip, or the side of a die with only one spot. From
the Latin as, or unit. |
Acetabularii
The magicians who specialized in performing the cups and balls routine in ancient Rome.
From the Latin for "vinegar cup". |
Aristocrat
Brand name of cards manufactured by U.S. Playing Card Co. |
Aviator
Brand of cards manufactured by U.S. Playing Card Co. Design is symmetrical. Many gimmicked
card decks are made with this back design. Also known as Fox Lake. |
BEE
Special back design of cards manufactured by U.S. Playing Card Co. Small scale pattern
with no border makes this type of deck excellent for card sleights, as the pattern helps
camouflage the moves. |
Broken Wand
Ceremony
Special ceremony conducted at the funeral of a magician in which a wand is broken to
symbolize the loss of magical power. First conducted by the Society of American Magicians
at Houdini's memorial service in 1926. |
Conjurer
Originally used to describe one who summons (or "conjures") demons and spirits,
the first use of this term to describe the magician as entertainer was in 1785, in a
French book titled The Conjurer Unmasked. "Conjuror" is an alternate
spelling. |
Cardician
Card magician and/or manipulator. Ed Marlo coined the term as the title of his 1953 book, The
Cardician. |
Fakir
A performer of seemingly miraculous feats (such as firewalking, snake charming and lying
on a bed of nails), usually with some religious significance. This term is sometimes
mistakenly used to describe a magician or conjurer; the proper Indian term for
"magician" is really jadoo wallah. |
"The Ghost
Walks"
Theater slang for getting paid. Meant to sarcastically convey the rarity of the event, as
in the familiar "Hell freezes over" expression. |
Hat Production
Not the production of hats, but rather the seemingly impossible
production of many items from a single hat. Hartz's "Devil
of a Hat" routine and Thurston's "All Out of a Hat" were spectacular
productions. This effects lost its popularity when fashion changed and men no longer wore
hats; today, the hat would seem to be a prop rather than an "ordinary object". |
Hocus Pocus
Nonsense phrase used to help the magician "make something happen". Some feel
that the word is a corruption of a Latin phrase used in the Mass, others say that it was
the name of a magician. Still another source considers it a reference to the Norse
folktale sorcerer Ochus Bochus. I could be a meaningless phrase created for its sound
alone. |
Juggler
Magicians were originally called jugglers. |
Legerdemain
French term (literally "light of hand") commonly used to refer to sleight
of hand or magical manipulation. |
Prestidigitation
Phrase coined by French magician Jules deRovere in 1815; loosely translated, the term
means "performed with quick fingers". |
Presto
Magic word taken from the musical term presto, for
"quickly". |
Profonde
Large pocket in the tails of a long tuxedo coat that allows the magician to vanish items
by tossing them down and behind him, into the pocket. |
Servante
Pouch or shelf positioned on the magician's side of a table, hidden from the spectator's
view, but allowing the magician to dispose of items by secretly dropping them into or onto
the servante while the hands seem to always remain in full view above the table. |
Sim Sala Bim
"Magic words" made popular by Dante; in fact, his show was named Sim Sala Bim.
Actually, it was a magical phrase taken from a popular Danish fairy tale (Dante was from
Denmark). |
Stodare Egg
Proper name for the hollow egg used to vanish a silk. Used in the Silk In Egg effect. |
Topit
Large pocket in the lining of a jacket that allows the magician to vanish items by tossing
them secretly and smoothly into the pocket. |
Voila
French for "here it is". |
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Magic
Shop Guide:
Magic Glossary