one more "reveal" (UNCLASSIFIED)

Tue Feb 7 22:22:19 UTC 2012

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Magicians and "the reveal" . . .  .

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Arnold Zwicky
> Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 8:33 AM
> Subject: Re: one more "reveal"
>
> the earlier discussion (in 2009 and 2011) noted a revival of the sense
'a
> revealing, revelation, disclosure' (marked "rare" in OED2) in
narratives and
> performances, esp. on tv, in advertising, and by magicians, where the
word
> serves as a term of the trade, and the beginnings of an extension of
this use
> into larger contexts, conveying 'unveiling' in general

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> victor steinbok
> Sent:  Sat, 30 Apr 2011 19:49:53 -0400
> Subject:   Re: New political tone in America
>
> This is not an innovation per se. It comes from fairly standard
illusionist
> jargon which, unfortunately, entered pop-culture with two films that
came
> out at about the same time--The Illusionist and The Prestige. I've
noticed
> it being used in some TV shows since then, so it's not surprising that
it's
> been adopted for something far more ordinary than the illusionist
> "reveal"--a simple revelation.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Jonathan Lighter
> Sent:  Wed, 9 Nov 2011 20:18:33 -0500
> Subject:   Re: reveal, n.
>
> Yes. "The reveal" was disseminated to millions in that magician movie
> a few years ago. You know the one I mean. The one whose title I can't
> remember.
> Ah! "The Prestige" (2006).
> JL

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
Behalf Of
> Garson O'Toole
> Sent:  Wed, 9 Nov 2011 19:59:49 -0500
> Subject:   Re: reveal, n.
>
>
> Magicians use the term "the reveal" when describing tricks or
> illusions I think. Maybe Bill Mullins knows more about this use.
> Garson

Although you can find magicians using "the reveal" as discussed above,
it is not particularly common in conjuring circles. (The scriptwriters
of "The Prestige" made up a bunch of stuff, including the idea that "the
prestige" is a term of art in conjuring.  There were many hoots of
derision about the jargon of the film in magic forums, etc., when that
movie came out, although they got many other details right, probably due
to consulting with magician Ricky Jay.)

_Genii_ v41n11 11/1977 p 715 col 1 [adv for Tannen's]  [same ad also
shows up in _M-U-M_ 6/78 p 55 col 1]
"At the reveal, it is found to be the spectator's card."

_Genii_ v54 n10 8/1991 p 678  col 1
"Then, on the reveal he merely hands the switched prearranged packet to
the spectator and has them deal out TEN OF HEARTS for a surprising and
mystifying finish."

_The Linking Ring_ v74n1 1/1994 p 148 col 1
"The reveal, using a drawing that turned into a real card and back to a
drawing again, was very well done."

_M-U-M_ v87n6 11/1997 p 30 col 2]
"And, with that statement, you open the right hand for the reveal."

I found another dozen or so cites in the AskAlexander database (which
has several hundred thousand scanned pages of magic books, scrapbooks,
instruction sheets, and journals).  The same database has well over a
thousand cites of the phrase "the revelation", which is what a magician
would most likely say instead of "the reveal".  "Denouement" also comes
up over a thousand times.  "Revelation," without the article "the",
shows up 7000 times.

Variant:
_The Linking Ring_ v63n1 1/1983 p 68 col 1
"If you reveal the first chosen card as produced you lose the impact of
the revealment of the second card."

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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