Magical Word Game

You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Martha Barnette.

And I’m Grant Barrett, and on the line is John Chaneski from New York City.

Hello, John.

Hi, John.

Hello, Grant. Hello, Martha.

You guys know I do magic, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, sure.

I do magic, yeah. One of these days I’ll try to figure out a magic trick I can do on the air.

But for now, presto, here are some clues to phrases that contain the word magic.

What do you think?

I think I want to hear them.

For example, here’s the first clue.

It contains, yes, very doubtful, and ask again later.

Magic eight ball.

Magic eight ball.

It is certain.

You got that right.

Let’s see how many more you can get.

Another word for this would be anodyne.

Penicillin is a good example.

Magic bullet?

Yes, magic bullet.

Something a drug used to cure a specific ailment.

Very good.

Now, we’re all of the same generation,

But younger people might not know what two words were the key ones to look for on a motel sign in the 1970s.

Magic fingers?

Magic fingers, right.

Get your quarters out.

I didn’t even have to give you the second part of the clue.

Just for those of you who have no idea what magic fingers are,

The words indicated that there was a little box near the top of your bed,

And you drop in a quarter, and you would feel the bed begin to vibrate your cares away.

In the moviemaking business, this term is used to indicate the perfect time of day for shooting romantic or magical scenes.

Yeah, the magic hour.

The magic hour, right.

It’s usually the late afternoon when the sun imparts everything with like a golden orange color.

Now, this was an early machine used to project pictures using a transparent slide.

Magic lantern.

Magic lantern.

Yes, magic lantern.

Very good.

Now, a trademark brand owned by 3M, it’s sold in distinctive plaid packaging.

Magic tape or something.

Yes, magic tape.

It appears frosty on the roll, but surprise, it’s invisible on paper.

Magic.

A literary genre or style commonly associated with…

Magic realism.

Magic realism.

Very good.

It is the principal weapon wielded by Diana, the princess of Themyscira.

She’s also known as Wonder Woman.

Magic lasso.

Yes, the magic lasso.

Do you know the power of the magic lasso?

What does it do?

It makes you tell the truth.

That’s right. It’s also known as the lasso of truth. Very good.

Perhaps you’re familiar with random dot auto-stereograms?

There are pictures with a horizontally repeating pattern, which differs slightly with each repetition,

Allowing you to see 3D images.

Is it magic eyes?

Yes, magic eye. Books of them were sold under the moniker magic eye.

Now, this song, originally written in 1965 and recorded in 68, is usually performed as a duet.

Magic Bus?

Yes, in which the rider asks the driver if he can purchase the title vehicle.

Say it again for us, Grant.

Magic Bus.

Magic Bus, right.

I’ll tell you one more bit of trivia about Magic Bus.

As most of the bass line consists of one note played ad nauseum,

John Entwistle hated playing it.

Why?

Why would he not want to play the same note over and over and over and over again?

It sounds like an easy gig, right?

He didn’t have a looping pedal, huh?

I guess not.

No, not back then.

Well, I hope you didn’t hate playing that.

I hope you liked playing that because that is my magic quiz.

I feel sawed in half.

Terrific.

Thanks, guys.

Thank you, John.

Thanks, John.

Much appreciated.

If you’ve got a question about language, give us a call, 877-929-9673, or email us.

The address is words@waywordradio.org.