The Magician's Hidden Library Magic Words: A Dictionary

ABOUT THIS BOOK
JUMP TO PAGE
INDEX / SEARCH
Previous Page

y Ya Ali (see ala) Meanings: • Invocation for help Literally, "Ali is our help." -- Stanley J. Tambiah, Leveling Crowds (1996) • Magic phrase -- M. Gonzalez-Wippler, Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies and Magic (1978) Origins: Ya Ali is of Arabic origin.1 Ali is an Arabic word meaning "by the most high." Similarly, Ali'i is a Hawaiian word meaning "chief." Yabba-Dabba-Doo I want some silly words, some happy words . . . And if you have any magic words, I want them too. -- Monalisa DeGross, Donavan's Word Jar (1998) Meanings: • Comic war cry -- Steve Rivkin, The Making of a Name (2004) • Excitement "[G]ulping down hard on the yabba-dabba-doo rising up his throat . . ." -- Glenn Stout, Chasing Tiger (2002) • Hooray! "Geppetto bolted up, clicked his heels, and shouted, 'Yabba-dabba-doo!' (Italian for Hooray!)" -- A.J. Jacobs, Fractured Fairy Tales (1999) • Magic words "There's no hocus-pocus, abracadabra, or yabba-dabba-doo to being saved." -- D.A. Carson, Sunsets (2005) Origins: Yabba-dabba-doo is an Italian phrase. Facts: Yabba-dabba-doo became a national catchphrase through the animated television series The Flintstones. This phrase has been called "English gibberish" -- that is, nonsense, but in the English language -- by Distinguished Arts and Science Professor Daniel C. Dennett.4 1 Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, The Complete Book of Spells, Ceremonies and Magic (1978) 2 A.J. Jacobs, Fractured Fairy Tales (1999) Michael Mallory, Hanna-Barbera Cartoons (1998) 4 Consciousness Explained (1991)
Next Page