d A magic word, whose beauty is enough To convince us of the power of Truth. • "They . . . had followed honor; and this was sanctified even more in their eyes by the magic word devotion." -- Alphonse de Lamartine, History of the Girondists (1847) Diffindo Origins: Diffindo is from the Latin word meaning "to cleave." In Literature: • Diffindo is a spell to tear things apart in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (2000). Diggedy Dobbidy Cool (see bibbidy-bobbidy-boo) In Literature: • Imamu Amiri Baraka, The Leroi Jones (1960) Diggi Daggi, Shurry Murry, Horum Harum, Lirum Larum, Rowdy Mowdy, Giri Gari, Posito, Besti Basti, Saron Froh, Fatto Matto, Quid Pro Quo Facts: This magical phrase occurs in Mozart's opera Bastien und Bastienne (based upon a 1752 operetta by Rousseau entitled Le Devin du Village [The Village Soothsayer]): "Bastienne is a shepherdess in love with Bastien, a shepherd [who is infatuated with a wealthy girl]. . . . [I]n comes the fortune- teller Colas. . . . [who] promises help through reading aloud from his book of magic. This is nothing but a lot of nonsense [words]."1 The pair is finally reconciled, and in the final chorus they sing the magician's praises. 1 Henry W. Simon, 100 Great Operas and Their Stories: Act-By-Act Synopses (1989) 2 Steve Boerner, "The Mozart Project" (1997)