Trade Secrets -- Glossary of Magic Terms (Mallusionist)

Glossary of Magic Terms

Abracadabra: A magic word used to indicate to the audience that something amazing is about to happen. Other magic words and phrases include: hocus pocus, alakazam, sim sala bim, shazam, presto, great Caesar's ghost, dy-no-mite, d'oh, eat my shorts, and what you talkin' 'bout Willis.

Angles: The corners of magic equipment. Cabinet with pointy corners are said to have "good angles," but, conversely, cards with pointy corners have "bad angles."

Black art: Magic that relies on selling one's soul to the Prince of Darkness instead of sleight of hand.

Burn: Being so mad that you caught a magician doing something fishy that you set his hands on fire.

Cardician: A magician who is also a cardiologist.

Centre tear: Just tearing the middle of a piece of paper and not the edges so you leave sort of a squared paper doughnut behind.

Charlier cut: A fancy way to shuffle cards taught by the magician's Uncle Charley.

Clean: A magician who is pure of spirit and body (rare).

Close-up magic: Magic that's not very interesting unless you can actually see it.

Cold deck: A deck of cards that has been kept in the refrigerator to preserve crispness.

Confederate: Someone who worked for a magician in the southern United States during the Civil War.

Conjurer: Someone who uses magic as an excuse to get out of jury duty.

Corporate magic: Magic performed at trade shows and other such venues for the purpose of interesting potential customers in a product. For example, "I see that from this tarot deck you freely selected the death card, which reminds me -- are you fully insured?"

Crimp: A card man with a bad leg.

Deal: Hand out cards from the top of the deck.

Deal seconds: Hand out two cards from the top of the deck.

Deal middles: Handing out cards using the performer's stomach as a table.

Deal bottoms: (You don't want to know.)

Dirty: When a magician tries to cover up the fact that a method has been exposed by making extremely off-color jokes.

Disappearance: When a hired magician just doesn't show up.

Distraction: See Misdirection.

Ditch: Where a magician gets thrown if he's caught second dealing during a legitimate poker game.

Double lift: A British building with two elevators.

Dovetail shuffle : When cards are shuffled by trained birds.

Effect: Whatever it was that the magician was attempting to do.

Egg bag: The bag in which a magician's lunch is carried.

Elmsley count: A method of determining how many Elmsleys are in a room.

Escape: Using skill and trickery to get out of something that you shouldn't have been in in the first place (straight jacket, flaming rope, spiked death trap, expensive restaurant, etc.).

Fakir: A magician who specializes in fire walking, lying on a bed of nails, hammering spikes into his nose, etc., because other kinds of magic require too much practice.

False shuffle: Pretending to have trouble walking so the audience will sympathyze with the magician.

False transfer: Using slight of hand to switch busses without paying extra.

Faro: A city in North Dakota. Magicians moving toward Faro are said to be "doing an in Faro," while magicians moving away from the fabled city are "doing an out Faro."

Flash: An in-trick clothing malfunction.

Flourish: Doing something fancy to extend the length of a trick because you are being paid by the hour.

Force: Making a spectator do something they do not intend to do, such as believe that these are not the droids they are looking for.

French drop: A feat of daring in which the magician jumps off the Eiffel Tower.

Gimmick: Whatever it is that a magician does to stand out from other magicians. For example, a magician might be known for working with white tigers, performing feats of endurance, constructing large-scale illusions, having one red fingernail, or getting abusive when restaurant patrons don't tip.

Glide: To walk without moving the feet.

Glimpse: To slyly steal a look at an attractive spectator during a performance.

Gospel magic: Magic intended to teach a moral lesson (e.g., "everyone who enjoys watching magicians is going to hell").

Hat Production: Making things appear out of a hat. Similarly, bag production, cabinet production, and rabbit production.

Illusion: Any large-scale feat of magic accompanied by flashing lights, special effects, a dramatic soundtrack, and chorography.

Illusionist: The guy who is actually trying to get some work done amidst the lights, special effects, music, and dancing.

International Brotherhood of Magicians: A world-wide cabal of powerful wizards that is the true power behind all human affairs.

Juggler: The big vein on the side of your neck.

Key card: A playing card slipped between a door and door jamb for purposes of bypassing a spring lock.

Lapping: Drinking without using the hands.

Legerdemain: The main book in which a magician keeps financial records.

Levitation: When a magician gets a rise out of someone.

Load: Telling an untruth to enhance a performance. E.g., "Did you hear what he said about being banned from ten casinos? What a load."

Loaded: Performing while drunk.

Magic dust: Expensive dust used by some magicians to get "extra loaded."

Magician's choice: Doing what the magician wants (for once).

Manipulator: A magician who uses teasing or peer pressure to get a spectator to come on stage when they don't want to.

Mechanic: A magician who also fixes cars to make ends meet.

Mechanic's grip: The firm handshake of a mechanic.

Misdirection: See Distraction.

Nail writer: Device used to write crib notes on fingernails.

One Ahead: When a magician is thinking about what he'll be doing after the show instead of concentrating on his performance.

Out: When a spectator screws up a trick so the angry magician has to throw him off stage.

Overhand shuffle: A fake shuffle whereby the magician splits the deck in two, holds one half in each hand, and then waves the hands over each other in a "hand jive" fashion.

Packet trick: A magic trick that can be kept in a teeny, tiny envelope (linking washers, vanishing ball Bering, torn and restored postage stamp, etc.)

Palming: Shaking hands.

Palming a card: Shaking hands with a card.

Patter: Over-dramatic descriptions, dated language, and bad jokes found in cheap magic trick instructions.

Peek: A glimpse at a spectator wearing revealing clothing.

PK: Psychokinesis -- the art of getting crazy people to move.

Plant: Vegitation secretly put on the stage by the magician to give the audience the feeling that they might be outside.

Prestidigitation: Using an ink pad to leave your fingerprints for the police after being arrested for street performing without a license.

Profonde: Some kind of French thing, probably.

Pull: Method for removing a rabbit from a hat.

Readers: Cards that have codes in the corner (e.g., "K" for a "king") of the card face so that they can be identified by anyone who can read.

Restaurant work: Doing magic for food.

Retention of vision: Remembering the point of a performance.

Riffle shuffle: A false shuffle in which the halves of a deck are split and then restored to their previous order while the magician makes "motorboat" noises with his mouth.

Rough: How a magician looks after a performance in front of a bad audience. (This can happen even if the performer is smooth.)

Routine: The same old tricks the magician always does.

Self-working trick: A trick that a magician can do alone.

Servante: The guy who cleans up after a magician.

Shuffle: To randomize a deck of playing cards.

Silk: A handkerchief you wouldn't want to blow your nose on.

Slide: A tube or chute to get quickly from one location to another (such as from the top of a ladder to the playground sand).

Sleight of hand: Having small hands.

Slip: What a magician may wear to protect her modesty from bright stage lights.

Spirit cabinet: Where a magician keeps the booze.

Stack: The top half of an attractive female magician.

Stand-up magic: A magician that will stick by you to the bitter end (e.g., "That magician -- he's a stand-up guy"):

Steal: Taking something (such as a watch) from a spectator to help make up for bad ticket sales.

Stodart egg: A fake egg used by magicians too cheap to buy a new egg for each performance.

Street magic: Magic performed by a magician who can't fill a theater and/or is homeless.

Stripper deck: Cards with nudie pictures on them.

Substitution: A magician who performs when the magician who was supposed to be performing is out sick.

Sucker effect: A trick involving a lollypop.

Svengali deck: A deck of cards that can use its hypnotic powers to control you mind.

Switch: Subject of the old-fashioned phrase, "Spare the wand, spoil the magician."

Table shuffle: In a stage show, the quick moving of spectators' tables so that they no longer know where they are sitting.

Talking: Routine in which the cards of a ventriloquist/magican tell the audience how tricks are done.

Thumb tip: The very end of a magician's thumb.

Topit: A cockney top hat.

Trick: One paid encounter with a "John."

Walkaround: A magician who walks around hoping to find someone with nothing to do but watch a card trick.

XCM: Extreme card manipulation (alternatively, an ex-card magician or xylophone concert manager).

Zombie gimmick: A secret rod used to deliver a powerful electric charge that can bring the dead back to life.

Got a magic-related word that you'd like to see defined in the Mallusionist glossary? Send it to us.

The information on this site is intended for use only by those with a sincere desire to learn nothing about magic and is for entertainment purposes only (in other words, don't try this stuff, particularly the dangerous parts). The Magicians Assistance Collective (MAC) frowns upon the use of magic in the formation of religions or to attract a cult following.

Magic is not real. Reality is not magic.

Trade Secrets Explained

Glossary of Magic Terms