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    Magic Words: A Dictionary
    Magic Words: A Dictionary
    Magic Words: A Dictionary
    Ebook1,190 pages8 hours

    Magic Words: A Dictionary

    By Craig Conley

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Magic Words: A Dictionary is a oneofakind resource for armchair linguists, popculture enthusiasts, Pagans, Wiccans, magicians, and trivia nuts alike. Brimming with the most intriguing magic words and phrases from around the world and illustrated throughout with magical symbols and icons, Magic Words is a dictionary like no other. More than sevenhundred essay style entries describe the origins of magical words as well as historical and popular variations and fascinating trivia. With sources ranging from ancient Medieval alchemists to modern stage magicians, necromancers, and wizards of legend to miracle workers throughout time, Magic Words is a must have for any scholar of magic, language, history, and culture.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRed Wheel Weiser
    Release dateOct 1, 2008
    ISBN9781609250508
    Magic Words: A Dictionary
    Author

    Craig Conley

    Craig Conley is an established teacher and author with a long history of writing for schools and public libraries. He is currently a consulting editor for McGraw-Hill and Globe Fearon publishers. For nine years he was an instructor of composition, literature, and study skills at universities and community colleges in Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida. His articles have appeared in magazines such as Verbatim, Mothering, Mnemosyne Journal, American Cage-Bird, and Home Education. Conley holds a B.S. in mass communications and an M.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University.

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    Reviews for Magic Words

    3.5/5

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    • 3/5
      An okay reference but a lot of wasted pages in my opinion; for every entry that fascinated and informed me, there were two that seemed a waste of space or simply dragged out too long because the author had simply dumped ALL his notes on the subject therein.

      Seriously--19 pages on abracadabra, 14 on hocus pocus and the same on open sesame?

      The book has a lot going for it in some intriguing entries, but it goes overboard and wasted (in my opinion) much space putting in nonsense phrases noted because a stage magician said them or silly pseudo-magical phrases linked to television shows (like Bewitched). If you're going that far, why not include the magical spells used in Bedknobs & Broomsticks (either the books or the silly Disney film)?

      The biggest oversight was seemingly ignoring one of the biggest sources of magic from the early 20th century--the OZ books by L. Frank Baum and others. Loads of magical words or phrases, but all left out here. Also notably missing are comic book magical words (even the big names like Doctor Strange and all his magical phrases are overlooked).

      In short, this book's structure irritated me because it seemed more important for the author to cram in tons of repetitive references and notes simply because he had them rather than find more magical words to provide a good broad look at how Western culture plays with language in mystical ways.

      At least I have the magic word ("Inuck-ch-uck!") that made Apache Chief grow twenty feet tall.

      I almost rated this 2 stars because of its wasted space and redundant references, but there's enough solid content and information in this to merit an "okay" reference at 3 stars. It's hardly a complete dictionary, but it's an interesting enough reference to flip through for ideas, clarification, or inspiration.
    • 4/5
      Magic WordsA Dictionaryby Craig Conley This 352 page dictionary of magic words was a real hoot to review, I had a blast just thumbing through the pages and learning about myths, origins, trivia and other cool stuff. I even learned how to summon zombies and bring big changes into my life. I also found the illustrations and icons to be very helpful with the process. I must tell you I knew of some magic words from books and movies, but I never imagined there were so many and even how they came to be in the first place. I think this voluminous teacher will go a long way in helping anyone broaden their horizons. I would recommend it to those who enjoy learning. Thanks Craig, for the interesting and informative experience. Love & Light, Riki Frahmann

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