List Of Magicians

Acquitment

The secret transfer of any hidden object from one hand to the other.

Ad Lib

An unscripted remark or action said or done on the spur of the moment.

Amateur

A magician who does magic as a hobby and not for a living.

Angle Proof

A trick or sleight that can be viewed from any angle without the spectators seeing how it was done.

Apparatus

The visible equiptment used in the performance of a trick.

Assistant

A magician's helper who forms part of the act.

Audience Participation

The involvement of all or part of the audience in the performance of a trick.

Automaton

A mechanical model or figure that performs intricate movements and tasks.

Betcha

A challange to the spectators in the form of a bet.

Billet

A folded slip of paper, usually with a word or number written on it, which the magician or mentalist has to identify.

Book Test

A mindreading in which the performer divines or predicts a chosen word or a passage from a book.

Box Jumper

A magician's assistant. So called because he or she spends a lot of time getting in and out of boxes or cabinets.

Close-up Magic

Tricks that are designed to be performed with the audience at close quarters.

Confederation

A helper who appears to be an ordinary member of the audience but who is secretly in league with the performer.

Cop

To secretly grab ahold of something that has been hidden.

Cue

A word or action that is used as a signal to another person backstage, or to someone already on stage, or to musicians.

Dealer

A person who supplies magicians with tricks, books, videos, and other items.

Ditch

To secretly dispose of something no longer required.

Effect

Any trick, but as it is seen by the audience.

Emcee

Abbreviation for Master of Ceremonies.

Escapology

The art of escaping from ropes, handcuffs, and other restraints.

ESP

Stands for Extra Sensory Perseption, the apparent ability to perform feats of mentalism.

Exposure

The disclosure of the secret method of how a trick is done--the big no-no in magic.

Fake

An object or piece of apparatus that appears to be genuine but isn't. Sometimes spelled Feke.

Fan

To spread out a pack of playing cards so they form the shape of a fan.

Fanning Powder

A powder applied to playing cards to make them slippery and easyer to fan.

Finale

The finish to a trick or an act---it is usually something more impressive than what has gone before, so that the performance ends on a high note.

Flash

To allow, accidentally, the audience to see something that is supposed to be hidden.

Flash Paper

Specially treated paper that produces a dramatic flash or flame when it is ignited.

Flourish

A visual display of dexterity or skill that is designed to impress rather than mystify.

Force

To appear to give a spectator a free choice but actually make them select what the magician wants.

Foulard

A large scarf or cloth cover.

Gaff

An object that appears ordinary but which has been specially altered for a trick.

Get-out

Any way of covering up the fact that a trick has gone wrong, without the audience being aware of the mistake.

Gimmick

A secret piece of equiptment that enables the magician to perform a particular trick.

IBM

Stands for The International Brotherhood of Magicians, which was founded in 1922 and is the world's largest magcial society

Illusion

A large-scale trick, usually involving people or animals.

Impromptu

A performance or trick done without any special preparation.

Layman

A nonmagician.

Legerdermain

A french word for sleight of hand, from leger de main, meaning light of hand.

Levitation

An illusion in which a person or object rises into the air with no apparent means of support.

Load

To secretly put an object or objects into position before revealing them. The word also applies to the objects that are loaded.

Manipulator

A stage magician whose act is accomplished mainly by slight of hand.

Master Of Ceremonies

The person who introduces performers to the audience when a show consists of several acts.

Mentalist

A performer who specializes in magic of the mind.

Misdirection

The art of diverting a spectator's attention away from a secret act.

Opener

The first trick of an act.

Palm

To hide an object in the palm of a hand.

Patter

The storyline, jokes, or other talking that accompanies the performance of a trick.

Pellet

A piece of thin paper bearing writen and rolled into a ball, used in mentalism.

Penetration

The effect of one solid object passing through another solid object.

Piracy

Stealing, copying, or selling tricks that belong to another performer--a crime that is frowned on by magicians everywhere.

Pocket Trick

A close-up trick for which the items needed can be carried in the magician's pocket.

Practice

The repeated performance of a trick until it is second nature to the magician and can be done without giving any clues.

Prestdigitation

A french word for slight of hand. It comes from the french word Preste, meaning nimble, and the latin word digitus, meaning finger.

Production

Making objects or people appear from thin air.

Props

Short for properties--the apparatus and other items that are used in a trick.

Pull

A method of vanishing an object by pulling it up a sleeve or inside a jacket. This gimmick is not used nearly as often as the public suspects.

Rehersal

A practice-run of a complete act or show to make sure everything goes smoothly.

Routine

A sequence of actions that blend into a trick or a series of tricks.

Running Gag

A joke or funny action that is repeated several times during a performance.

SAM

Stands for The Society of American Magicians.

Servante

A hidden shelf at the back of a table or chair.

Silk

A coloured square of fine material.

Sleight of Hand

The manipulation of ordinary objects in the hands to create an apparently magical effect.

Stack

A secret arrangement of a few playing cards or a whole pack in a special order that is essential for the trick to work.

Stage Name

The name used by a magician although it is not his or her real name.

Steal

To secretly remove something from a place of concealment.

Sucker Trick

A trick that gives the audience the impression they know what the magician is up to before the magician proves them wrong.

Suspension

An illusion in which a person or object remains suspended in midair after all or some supports have been removed.

Switch

To exchange one item for another that appears to be identical, without the audience being aware that anything has changed.

Table Hopping

Performing close-up magic at tables in a restaurant.

Talk

The sound made when a hidden object accidentally hits something in a performance and thus discloses its presence.

Transformation

The illusion of turning an object or person into something or someone else.

Transposition

The illusion of vanishing an object or person from one place then producing them in another.

Trap

A secret trapdoor in the floor of the stage, or a hidden flap in a prop.

Vanish

To make an object or person dissapear.

Ventriloquism

The art of speaking so that the voice seems to come from somewhere or something else.