hocus-pocus

hocus-pocus
A phrase used as a magical incantation to bring about some change.
2. noun
A specific act of trickery or nonsense.

What kind of hocus-pocus is this?


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  • Hocus Pocus — Hocus pocus, hocus pocus, or hokus pokus is a term used by magicians, usually the magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It may also refer to: Contents 1 Books 2 Film and television 3 Music 4 …   Wikipedia

  • Hocus pocus — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Hocus Pocus est une locution utilisée par les magiciens. On la retrouve en outre dans : Sommaire 1 Résumé 2 Cinéma …   Wikipédia en Français

  • hocus-pocus — 1620s, Hocas Pocas, common name of a magician or juggler, a sham Latin invocation used in tricks, probably based on a perversion of the sacramental blessing from the Mass, Hoc est corpus meum This is my body. The first to make this speculation on …   Etymology dictionary

  • hocus-pocus — [hō′kəspō′kəs] n. [imitation L, prob. altered < hax pax (max Deus adimax), arbitrary magic formula attributed to medieval traveling scholars] 1. meaningless words used as a formula by conjurers 2. a magician s trick or trickery; sleight of… …   English World dictionary

  • Hocus-pocus — Ho cus po cus, n. [Prob. invented by jugglers in imitation of Latin. Cf. {Hoax}, {Hocus}.] 1. A term used by magicians or conjurers in pretended incantations. [1913 Webster] 2. A juggler or trickster. [Archaic] Sir T. Herbert. [1913 Webster] 3. A …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hocus-pocus — Ho cus po cus, v. t. To cheat. [Colloq.] L Estrange. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hocus pocus — Hocus pocus, 1) Wörter, welche Taschenspieler bei ihren Kunststücken aussprechen. Man hat die etymologische Abstammung dieser Formel von hoc est corpus aus dem Missale; od. von dem wallisischen hocced, Betrug; od. dem englischen pocke, Tasche u.a …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Hocus Pocus — Hocus Pocus, S. Hokus Pokus …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

  • hocus-pocus — mummery, *gibberish, abracadabra …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • hocus-pocus — [n] deception, magic abracadabra*, artifice, cant, chant, charm, cheating, chicanery, conjuring, deceit, delusion, flimflam*, fraud, gibberish, gobbledegook*, hoax, humbug, imposture, incantation, jargon, juggling, legerdemain, mumbo jumbo*,… …   New thesaurus

  • hocus-pocus — ► NOUN 1) meaningless talk used to deceive. 2) a form of words used by a conjuror. ORIGIN from hax pax max Deus adimax, a pseudo Latin phrase used as a magic formula by conjurors …   English terms dictionary

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