Corny Magic

How magic become corny, one letter at a time:

MAGIC
MANIC
MANIA
MANNA
CANNA
CANNY
CARNY
CORNY

Words Spoken with Force

"Words spoken with force create particles."
—Mei-mei Berssenbrugge

(Thanks to William Keckler)

Zing Zang Zoom

"Zing Zang Zoom" is the magic phrase of a new Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus show. The director explains: "We created the story of a young magician (the 'zingmaster') and the magic words 'Zing Zang Zoom' he uses, and the audience learns how to use them during the course of the show to create all sorts of wonderful, magical occurrences and create the different circus acts."

Time

"Time is the magic word," suggests Monotone, an indie rock band from the Netherlands. They might be right:

"Did you catch that magic word? Time."
—Ross Campbell, How to Really Love Your Teen (2004)

"Protected by the magic word 'Time.'"
—Wilfred Burchett, "South of the 17th Parallel" (1955)

"The magic of Time, the greatest of all magics."
—Michael Scott, The Alchemist (2008)

But here's our favorite:

"This is the truly special magic of time: The mystery can be fully revealed and still remain mystery."
—Tarthang Tulku, Dynamics of Time and Space (1994)

Singing an Inner Song

"I believe that everybody is singing an inner song, and the question isn't whether we are or not — we are! — the question is whether this is a song of power or a song of weakness; whether it is a song of love or a song of hatred. That's the question."

—Eugene Burger, from his interview in The Magic Circular (May 2009)

Pbth

Pbth is a magic word "so powerful, you cannot spell it, and it can dispel the worst of insults or even the dreaded evil eye. . . . Just put two lips together, stick out your tongue, and blow. It's so easy that kids use it all the time" (Joann Hankamer).

(For other strange and unusual voweless words, don't miss our dictionary of all-consonat words.)

One Talismanic Word

"Van Wyck Brooks has remarked that every writer possesses in his vocabulary one talismanic word which suggests the essential secret of his personality."
—The South Atlantic Quarterly