magic

black magic

Magic used for or derived from evil forces, such as witchcraft or sorcery. He laid a curse upon the town with his black magic, robbing people of their free will.
See also: black, magic

magic bullet

1. A drug, treatment, or medical therapy that provides an immediate cure to an ailment, disease, or condition without negative side effects or consequences. Despite the amazing leaps in medical technology and knowledge, we're still quite a ways off from developing a magic bullet in cancer treatment. Beware any person or company trying to sell you a magic bullet for your health problems. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
2. Something that provides an immediate and extremely effective solution to a given problem or difficulty, especially one that is normally very complex or hard to resolve. There's no magic bullet that will solve the homelessness crisis in this country.
See also: bullet, magic

magic carpet

A carpet capable of propelling itself through the air, usually as people ride on it. Typically featured in fantasy stories and fairy tales. My kids love hearing fantastical stories that are full of monsters, spells, and magic carpet rides.
See also: carpet, magic

magic eye

A cathode-ray tube found on some radios (particularly in the mid-20th century) that displayed a visual cue to aid the tuning of the radio. Back in my day, we needed to use a magic eye to tune our radios!
See also: eye, magic

magic moment

A brief experience perceived as special in some way. Seeing the little girl run up and hug her father when he returned home from deployment was a magic moment. The concert was actually pretty boring, but there was a magic moment during the flute solo that I'll never forget.
See also: magic, moment

magic mushrooms

Psilocybin mushrooms, which have psychoactive effects when ingested. I ate way too many magic mushrooms and had the trippiest night of my life! They told me these were magic mushrooms, but I don't really feel anything after eating them.
See also: magic, mushroom

magic touch

An ability to perform a particular task perfectly or with ease, especially when other cannot. I asked Gary if he wanted to try starting the car, and sure enough he had the magic touch. Give that account to June. She has the magic touch when it comes to dealing with difficult clients.
See also: magic, touch

magic up

1. To use magic in order to make someone or something appear out of thin air. The wizard magicked up a giant golem and ordered it to attack the army of orcs.
2. To produce, create, or cause to appear a person or thing very suddenly, as if by magic. A noun or pronoun can be used between "magic" and "up." The floundering production seems to have magicked a new director up out of thin air. Their scientists managed to magic up a cure for the disease in just a matter of days.
See also: magic, up

magic wand

Something that provides an easy or immediate way to fix to a problem. I wish I had a magic wand to get this house cleaned up before the party tonight. There's no magic wand to eliminate your debt—you just have to pay off a little each month.
See also: magic, wand

pure fucking magic

rude slang Incredible, wonderful, or awe-inspiring. I'm telling you, their live concerts are pure fucking magic!
See also: fucking, magic, pure

silver bullet

Something that provides an immediate and extremely effective solution to a given problem or difficulty, especially one that is normally very complex or hard to resolve. The phrase is almost always used in a statement that such a solution does not exist. There's no silver bullet that will solve the homelessness crisis in this country. The way to make progress is through deliberate, logical discussions around the issue.
See also: bullet, silver

tragic magic

1. dated slang Heroin. When you're an addict, you'll do just about anything to get your next fix of that tragic magic.
2. dated slang Crack cocaine mixed with phencyclidine (PCP). I heard they caught the teacher smoking tragic magic in his car one afternoon during his lunch break.
See also: magic, tragic

wave a magic wand

To provide the perfect solution to a given problem or difficulty, as if by magic. If I could wave a magic wand, I would just make it so the pipe had been installed properly in the first place. But I can't, so we're going to have to make a decision about how to fix it. We can't just wave a magic wand and make poverty go away. It will have to be a systematic effort by many stakeholders.
See also: magic, wand, wave

wave a/(one's) (magic) wand (and do something)

To provide the perfect solution to a given problem or difficulty, as if by magic. If I could wave my magic wand, I would just make it so the pipe had been installed properly in the first place. But I can't, so we're going to have to make a decision about how to fix it. We can't just wave a magic wand and make poverty go away. It will have to be a systematic effort by many stakeholders.
See also: wand, wave

weave (one's) magic

To use one's unique talents or charm to obtain a desired thing or outcome. I never thought the boss would approve our business trip, but Sam wove her magic, and now, we're off to Denver! Whenever I can't get my car running, I have my dad come over and weave his magic on the engine.
See also: magic, weave

What's the magic word?

A question posed to someone (typically a child) when they have asked for something without saying "please." A: "Can I have some money to go to the movies?" B: "What's the magic word?"
See also: magic

white magic

Magic that aims to foster good, either by bringing about positive outcomes or by keeping bad things from happening. Her illness has gotten worse, so I did white magic focused on restoring her health. Can you do some white magic to stop this hurricane?
See also: magic, white

work (one's) magic

To use one's unique talents or charm to obtain a desired thing or outcome. I never thought the boss would approve our business trip, but Sam worked her magic, and now, we're off to Denver! Whenever I can't get my car running, I have my dad come over and work his magic on the engine.
See also: magic, work

work like magic

To be exceptionally effective. This new software works like magic. I barely had to do anything and the image is perfect. Our teeth-whitening methods work like magic. You'll be amazed at the difference.
See also: like, magic, work
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

wave a magic wand

If someone waves a magic wand, they quickly and easily make things the way you want them to be. As much as I would like to, I can't solve all your problems by waving a magic wand. The fans think that you just wave a magic wand and you get money. Note: This expression is usually used to talk about things which are not possible.
See also: magic, wand, wave
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a magic carpet

a means of sudden and effortless travel.
In fairy tales, a magic carpet is able to transport a person sitting on it to any place they desire.
See also: carpet, magic

wave a (or your) magic wand

exercise an arbitrary (quasi-supernatural) power in order to make something happen.
2004 Trinidad Guardian It is not realistic to believe or to say that a UNC government would wave a magic wand and crime would dissipate.
See also: magic, wand, wave
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

(have) a/the magic ˈtouch

(have) a special ability that means you do something very well: She seems to have a magic touch with the children and they do everything she asks.
See also: magic, touch

weave your ˈmagic

,

weave a ˈspell (over somebody)

(especially British English) perform or behave in a way that attracts and interests somebody very much or makes them react in a particular way: Will Owen be able to weave his magic against Spain on Wednesday?
See also: magic, weave
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

magic mushrooms

and sacred mushrooms
n. mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe, which cause visions or hallucinations when eaten. (Drugs.) Magic mushrooms are okay because they are natural, or something like that. They sometimes call peyote cactus buds, the “sacred mushrooms.”
See also: magic, mushroom

silver bullet

and magic bullet
n. a specific, fail-safe solution to a problem. (From the notion that a bullet made of silver is required to shoot a werewolf.) I’m not suggesting that the committee has provided us with a silver bullet, only that their advice was timely and useful. I don’t know the answer. I don’t have a magic bullet!
See also: bullet, silver

magic bullet

verb
See silver bullet
See also: bullet, magic

tragic-magic

n. heroin. This “tragic-magic,” which has swept over the land, has taken too many of our youth.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

magic bullet

A fail-safe solution to a problem. The term was coined by Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), who won the 1908 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. He gave the name to a compound that selectively targeted a bacterium without affecting other organisms, specifically the agent causing syphilis. The name soon was transferred to other curative compounds, and later to other kinds of problem. For example, “The Federal Reserve has no magic bullet for dealing with high unemployment.”
See also: bullet, magic

silver bullet

A highly accurate projectile of death or destruction. Sir Walter Scott may have been the first to use the idea of a literal silver bullet in Lockhart (1808), “I have only hopes that he will be shot with a silver bullet.” The term caught on in the first half of the 1900s because the popular western hero of the radio program, The Lone Ranger, used a silver bullet. During the Korean War an antiaircraft shell that hit precisely on target was called “silver bullet.” By the late 1900s the term also was being used figuratively, as in, “We’re hoping our new software will be the silver bullet to put the company on the map.”
See also: bullet, silver
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • black magic
  • carpet
  • wave a magic wand
  • wave a wand
  • wave a/(one's) (magic) wand (and do something)
  • under a spell
  • thrill to
  • thrill to (something)
  • What's the magic word?
References in periodicals archive
1982 Founds charity Project Magic, which teaches magic as a rehabilitation tool.
Now they should try to find the magic square, and many will get the row and column totals correct, but not both the diagonals.
The family had the audience in rapture as they went about doing card tricks, changing dresses in seconds, chopping up assistants, vanishing the statue of venus and performing magic within magic sequences.
Argentine magician Henry Evans won the gold prize for the close-up magic competition, and said, "I am really very happy, we are great magicians, I am sure I will remember this moment for all my life."
He has taught magic to many studentsC* and thanks to him, he has elevated the art of magic to a level that all his students are professional magicians now," said Hassini.
'The integrated 'Magic Kingdom City' is shaping into a destination of choice for NRI investors,' said Hussaini F.
Magic Show, a Hayward Touring exhibition which is now on show in Cardiff, considers how art and magic often share common ground, and how some contemporary artists adopt the perception-shifting tactics of the theatrical magician to influence the viewer and explore the power of suggestion.
1; "Jewish magic: a contradiction in terms?" The Hebrew Bible does not forbid magic per se, as sometimes claimed, only certain practices or practitioners.
The week-long South Tyneside International Magic Festival 2010 began in earnest this week with the start of the Magic in the Community Programme sponsored by South Tyneside Homes.
Magic of Motown producer Michael Taylor says: "You've seen the box office record-breaking movie, been to see the smash-hit West End stage show, now you can experience the music of Abba live, authentically reproduced in the UK's number one concert show, Abba Magic."
GETTING READY My art class is preparing for a magic show.
Magic Dough features antibacterial construction and rolls up into an easy-to-store tube.
has acquired the Baby Magic brand from Ascendia Brands.
NEW YORK -- Naterra International Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of personal care brands, purchased the Baby Magic brand of baby care products this month from Ascendia Brands Inc.