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Is Hocus Pocus a corruption of Hoc est corpus?
What does Hocus Pocus mean?
What does Hocus-Pocus mean?
Is astrology considered Hocus Pocus?
Who was Hocus Pocus?
Is Hocus Pocus a hoax?
Hocus-pocus means false and tricky words or actions, often used by magicians or jugglers. Learn the origin, synonyms, and usage of this term with examples from Collins English Dictionary.
Hocus-pocus is a reference to the actions of magicians, often as the stereotypical magic words spoken when bringing about some sort of change. It was once a common term for a magician, juggler, or other similar entertainers.
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'Hocus pocus' is a supposed magical charm previously uttered by magicians. More recently it has been used as a general term for trickery or magic.
From the early 17th century onwards 'hocus pocus' (now more often spelled as a single hyphenated word) has been used as an incantation by conjurers when performing tricks. Hocus-pocus is now treated like abracadabra, shazam and 'izzy-wizzy, let's get busy' that is, as stage patter, used mostly by comedy magicians. When it was first coined though ma...
As one who was employed in the unmasking of witches Ady took a professional interest in their craft. He had little faith is the audience - silly wenches he calls them - having the ability to distinguish between the juggler's tricks ('lying miracles') and what he viewed as the true miracles of Christ. This was a life an death matter for those concer...
Even in 1656 Ady was wise to the techniques that are still used by conjurers to baffle us today. In his book he asks 'Why with their Inchantments?' and answers his own question with:
In suggesting that both conjurers and Catholic priests were tricksters we can hardly view Archbishop Tillotson as an objective judge. There doesn't seem to be any substance in his supposition, which isn't supported by any evidence or other citations.
Hocus is thought to be the source for the verb hoax. That doesn't appear until 1796 though and, although the link seems intuitive, there is no direct evidence to link the two words.
Hocus-pocus is a pseudo-Latin phrase used by magicians and jugglers to perform tricks or deceive. It can also mean trickery, chicanery or a mystifying jargon. Learn more about its history and usage with examples.
Hocus-pocus is an illusion or a meaningless distraction that tricks you in some way. Some people believe in astrology, while others think horoscopes are nothing but hocus-pocus.
What does the verb hocus-pocus mean? There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the verb hocus-pocus . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
If you describe something as hocus-pocus, you disapprove of it because you think it is false and intended to trick or deceive people.
