EXPAND YOUR MAGICAL KNOWLEDGE!
Â
The secret to performing magic tricks is all in the hands-or at least, that's what is suggested by the etymologies of prestidigitation and its two synonyms legerdemain and sleight of hand.
The French word preste (from Italian presto) means "quick" or "nimble," and the Latin word digitus means "finger."
Put them together and-presto!-you've got prestidigitation.
Similarly, legerdemain was conjured up from the Middle French phrase leger de main, which translates to "light of hand."
The third term, sleight of hand, involves the least etymological hocus-pocus;
it simply joins "hand" with sleight, meaning "dexterity."
[Credit: MerriamWebster.com]
Â
At MagicTricks.com, we sell a set of authentic antique posters
and a souvenir book dating from 1877.
Peter Monticup uncovered a stash of these unused posters
that were hidden in a barn for 100 years.
The name of the magician who used these posters?
DE LA MANO
meaning "of the hand"!
