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.