Magicians' words

Tue Apr 27 02:48:21 UTC 2004

At 8:57 PM +0100 4/26/04, Michael Quinion wrote:
>Can anyone help me out, off list for preference, with more examples
>of traditional magicians' incantatory phrases, of the "by jingo",
>"hey presto", "presto chango", "abracadabra", "shazam", "alakazam"
>type? I am sure there are more in widespread use, but my mind's gone
>blank and a deadline approaches!

Don't forget the incantations used in shooting craps. For a
preliminary treatment of this topic, see Barry Popik's "19th Century
Material on Shooting Craps.", _Comments on Etymology_, March 2000,
vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 12-24.  Pp. 22-23 contain a preliminary
compilation of the incantations, e.g.: "Zip-zong-zekel-hezikiah",
"Cudgy! Cudgy! Cudgy! Heeyarh! Zoop!!!", "Moola-roola-feterich/Roll
'em up er seben,/[etc.]"

Gerald Cohen