48 MAGIC WORDS
Piddlepaddlepodlepum
In Literature:
• "[S]he pronounced the magical word, 'Piddlepaddlepodlepum!' (only you
mustn't say it, you know) and then she waved her magic wand three times.
Then a wonderful thing happened. Grandpa's bushy tail, that had turned
white because he was so old, got a nice silver-gray in an instant, and the
pain in his back went right away. Then he straightened up, and he cried:
'Well, well, I certainly do feel better! I feel ever so much younger again. I
guess I'm wrong about fairies being bosh. I'm ever so much obliged to you,
my dear little lady. I surely do feel fine! Thank you so much!'" -- Howard
Roger Garis, Johnnie and Billie Bushytail (1910)
Pif Paf Poof
(see also poof)
He's disappeared, Pif Paf Poof! Magic.
-- TodChat.com (200 )
Meanings:
• Bing-bang-boom
-- Gerard Genette, Mimologics (1995)
• Magic
"Must be magic then. Abracadabra! Pif-Paf-Poof."
-- MoviePoopShoot.com (2004)
• Magic word
Pif paf poof is the catchphrase of professional magician Geoffrey Durham's
character "The Great Soprendo."
"[S]ome omnipotent being said 'pif-paf-poof ' and all of creation
sprung to life . . ." -- "Earth and Beyond Portal," EBPortal.com (200 )
• Password
"I hope Yoda does not tell Obi-Wan some secret password like pif-pafpoof!"
-- GalacticSenate.com (2004)
Facts: Pif Paf Poof is a phrase from a universal language. For example,
in The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War by Jaroslav Hasek
(197 ): "The Hungarian . . . tried to explain something to him with the help
of gestures. He pointed to his shot arm and said in international language:
'Pif, paf, poof!'"
Pif paf poof appears in the comic opera The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein
by Jacques Offenbach (1967).
Pif-Paf is a Polish interjection meaning "Bang! Bang!"
Pif Paf is the name of a card game from Brazil.