MAGIC WORDS In Literature: • "Eventually, he took a sip of tea and mouthed the magic words 'tokoro ga.' This phrase -- it means 'as for the matter at hand' -- marks the pivotal moment in a Japanese conversation." -- T. R. Reid, Confucius Lives Next Door (2000) Topsy-Turvy, Rickets Scurvy, Barley Rye and Wheatly, Backwards Power, Sweet and Sour, Reverse This Scene Completely In Literature: • John R. Erickson, Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest (1998) Treasure (see also gold, fortune and money) In Literature: • "[Treasure] is a magic word, conjuring 'riches beyond measure,' troves of wealth, chests of gold coins, hoards of precious stones, jewel-encrusted reliquaries, crowns and crucifixes, sovereigns and states, pirates and plunder. The word arrived on the shores of the islands of New Zealand in 1840 with centuries of English history behind it and millennia of Mediterranean history behind that." -- Malcom McKinnon, A History of the New Zealand Treasury (200 ) • "During a conversation over several rounds of iced rum, Caesar spoke the magic word that has fired the human mind into insanity for five thousand years and probably caused more grief than half the wars: treasure." -- Clive Cussler, Cyclops (1986) • "'It's as if -- as if the key to the treasure is the treasure!' As soon as she spoke these last words, a genie appeared from nowhere right there in our library-stacks." -- John Barth, Chimera (1972) Trojan, Ramses, Magnum, Sheik Facts: This is a spell to get rid of zombies (actually names of condom brands), chanted by cartoon character Bart Simpson in the episode "Dial Z For Zombies" of The Simpsons television series.