4 0 MAGIC WORDS Voilà Voila, bewildered and hypnotized I had fallen for your magic and tricks. -- Sorana Salomeia, "Simsalabim" (2004) Meanings: • Behold! • Magic word "[V]eil or no veil, I was readying myself to 'voilà!' at any moment . . ." -- Wesley Stace, Misfortune (2005) • There it is! "Intuition often speaks to us in dreams, when the conscious mind is asleep. We'll go to sleep within an insurmountable problem, and in the morning -- voilà! -- like magic, we have an answer." -- Craig Karges, The Wizard's Legacy (2002) Origins: Voilà is a French word. Common Magician's Applications: Production. For example: "Charlotte made a sweeping motion, and just like that, the old coin was gone. 'Et voilà!' said Charlotte in her best Parisian accent."4 In Literature: • Jennifer Finney Boylan, She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders (200 ) • "The magician . . . takes on a voice somewhat mystically transformed: 'Voilà now, and with a flourish of the scarf!'" -- R.K. Puma, "The Magician," RKPuma.com (200 ) • "[He might] pull the papers from his shirt like a magician: 'Voilà! I have these secret documents from the homes of enemies of the state." -- Margaret Peterson Haddix, Among the Brave (2004) • "She waved her arms and snapped her fingers like a magician's. '. . . voilà.'" -- Claire Daniels, Body of Intuition (2002) • "'Voilà!' He clasped the rough-edged object in his hand. He brought it carefully to the surface. It glowed a shiny yellow in the afternoon sunlight, its magic qualities hidden cleverly beneath its smooth golden surface." -- Beverly S. Adam, Irish Magic (200 ) 4 Annie Bryant, Out of Bounds (2005)