Here you can find some magic terms and what they mean.
Angles – People sitting at certain position in the audience can see the secret.
Cold(deck) – Switching in a stacked deck.
Change – Changing one card for another.
Charlier – One handed flourish cut or pass.
Crimp – A bend in a card or cards which is used to locate them later. A gamblers move which can be used in magic, there are many different types.
CC/MC- Conjorer’s/Magician’s choice where an object is forced on a spectator by deciding if he takes or discards the objects selected.
Deal – To take cards off the top of the deck. Deal seconds (take the second card looking like the top) Deal Middles (take a middle card looking like the top) Deal Bottoms (take the bottom card looking like the top)
Effect – A magical happening. The proper word for a trick. Beginners do tricks. Magicians perform effects. Note the word perform.
False transfer – An object is put or taken into one hand while being retained in the other.
Faro – A skilfull shuffle similar to the riffle where the cards mesh perfectly.
Flash – Exposing a move, object, or part of an object momentarily during presentation.
Flourish – A showy move which displays handling skills.
French drop – A take false transfer with a coin or small object.
Force – Where a card or object is made to be selected even though there appears to a free choice.
Glimpse – To get a secret view of a card or object.
Gimmick/Gaffe – Secret part or object used to make the trick work.
Impromptu – A trick that can be performed at a moments notice, usually with everyday objects and little or no preparation.
Key Card – Known card used to locate another.
Lapping – Dropping an object into one’s lap to vanish it (done while seated).
Laypeople – Non-magician people.
Load – To secretly put an object into a location.
Manipulator – A magician with a showy sleight of hand act, often set to music, who produces cards/coins etc or multiplies balls in the air.
Mechanic – An operator who is very skilled at sleight of hand (usually with cards).
Mechanic’s grip – A way of holding the pack in the left hand ready for dealing. The fore finger is on the front of the deck to help square the pack and control the cards.
Misdirection – Getting the spectators to cocentrate elsewhere when a move takes place.
Monte – Famous con game where three cards are thrown down and the mark has to find the queen/ace etc. Due to sleight of hand, he never wins.
One Way Forcing deck – A deck which consists of all the same card so a spectator must choose that one.
One Way Back deck – A deck where the back design is not the same upside down enabling a card or cards to be located because they are the wrong way up.
Out – An ending to a trick that the magician uses if the trick goes wrong.
Palm – To hold an object in the hand secretly.
- BP – Back Palm (Held on back of the hand)
- FP – Finger Palm (Held in the fingers)
- CP – Classic Palm (Held in centre of the hand)
- TP – Thumb Palm (Held in the crotch of the thumb)
Pass – Secret move to transpose the halves of a pack eg to bring a card to the top.
Patter – The words magicians use.
Pinch – Vanish done by snapping coin from lengthways in the finger tips to edgeways, incorparating a ROV element. Also a vanish used by carring a sponge ball from pinched between fingers to a palm.
ROV – Retention of vision vanish. Put vanish for a coin.
Readers/paper – Marked cards which can be read from their backs.
Riffle – To let cards come of the hand creating a noise. Also riffle shuffle.
R/S – The use of rough or smooth compounds on cards which makes them stick or slide easily.
Silk – A silk handkerchief.
Shell – A hollowed out coin or ball which fits over the real object allowing vanish and reproductions.
Shell game – Con game with walnut shells and a pea where the muggle has to guess the shell with the pea in. Due to sleight of hand he never wins.
Sleeving – Dropping an object up a sleeve to vanish it.
Sleight – A secret move.
Spectator – A person watching a trick or performance.
Sponge – A sponge ball.
Stack – A prearranged deck or part of the deck of cards.
Steal – A slight to obtain an object secretly eg Stealing a ball from under a cup or stealing a card from the pack.
Stripper deck – cards are wider at one end, enabling a reversed card to be located.
Stooge, shill, or stick – Audience member who is actually planted as part of the act and who acts in a cooperative manner.
Sucker effect – A trick where the spectator is lead to believe he has worked it out, only to be proved very wrong.
Svengali deck – Gimmicked deck where every other card is the same and also short. Can be used for forcing and many other effects.
Switch – To change one object for another. Eg Bobo switch for coins or Gypsy switch which uses a silk handkerchief.
T&R – Torn and Restored. The magician rips something up into many pieces (eg playing card/paper etc) and then “restores” it.
TT – Thumb tip. Plastic thumb cover for vanishing and reproducing small objects.