hocus-pocus

Meaning

Intj

A phrase used (by a stage magician, etc.) as a magical incantation to bring about some change: abracadabra, hey presto.

Noun

1. (uncountable, usually) Some ineffectual action or speech, especially if intended to divert attention; nonsense.
2. (derogatory, uncountable, usually) Religious or supernatural phenomena one holds to be nonsense or mere trickery; superstitious mumbo-jumbo.
3. (US, also, attributive, countable, uncountable, usually) Some action carried out to bring about change as if by magic; a trick; sleight of hand, trickery.
4. (countable, obsolete, usually) A conjurer.
5. (countable, obsolete, usually) A conjurer's trick.

Verb

To play tricks or practise sleight of hand (on someone); (by extension) to cheat, to deceive.

Synonyms

abracadabra

conjuring

skulduggery

incantation

legerdemain

mumbo jumbo

skullduggery

slickness

swindle

trickery

jiggery-pokery

hanky panky

dupe

trick

hokey-pokey

jugglery

strange

weird thing

queer

cheating

Translations

Hokuspokus

abracadabra

hocus-pocus

abracadabra

trucco

inganno

zwendel

truque

artifício

artimanha

engodo

subterfúgio

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌhəʊkəs ˈpəʊkəs/

Etymology

The interjection and noun are derived from pseudo-Latin magical incantations used by conjurers (formerly called “jugglers”) such as “hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo” (by a particular 17th-century conjurer who allegedly adopted the moniker Hocus Pocus) and “hax pax max Deus adimax”. The suggestion that the term is a corruption of words from the Roman Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist, “hoc est enim corpus meum” (“this is my [i.e., Jesus’s] body”), was made in a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Tillotson (1630–1694), but is not generally accepted.
The verb is derived from the noun.