Do Magicians Speak
English?
Do Magicians Speak English? by Mike Rogers
Quite
often there will be two or three magicians working
the same trade show. These magicians will frequently
spend time together during breaks and slow periods.
Once at a show Paul Gertner, Dick Stoner and
I were standing around my booth solving the
problems of the magic world while waiting for
the show to open. Like other magicians we discussed
various tricks, moves, and the events going
on in magic. After the session broke, with each
heading to his own exhibit, one of the salesmen
from my company, who had been in on the fringes
of the session, asked me if magicians ever spoke
English. It seems our shop talk totally boggled
him. What did it mean when a Mexican turned
over, and just what do the French do when they
drop? Why did we need to know that a gambler
had a palm, for doesn't everyone have a palm?
Also, why do some people have palms that are
classic? Did the Biddle Grip and Drop Switch
have anything to do with pornography?
Until
then I had never given much thought as to how
the jargon of magic might sound to a layman.
When you think about it much of what we say
in our private conversations must make us sound
as if we are burglars, perverts, junkies, or
perhaps just plain idiots. Every industry has
its own vernacular, the computer industry probably
leading the pack. However, those of us in magic
need not take a back seat when it comes to unique
and interesting verbiage.
What
does the listener think when he hears us in
a discussion of the Pass. Are we suggesting
our time is spent trying to pick up girls? Is
the Classic Pass used by the time honored ladies'
man, while the Shuttle Pass is reserved for
trying to score on the airport shuttle. How
about the Bluff Pass? Is it used by the guy
who is only joking? Peter Studebaker tells a
good story about two magicians discussing various
methods of dealing seconds, centers, and bottoms.
One magician suggested that the other certainly
had a nice bottom. Can you imagine the layman
hearing that conversation? How about the magician
guilty of flashing the big balls, or one that
loves the Paddle Move. You'd certainly keep
your child a great distance from these guys!
Would
the layman listener assume the Dribble Force
to be a medical problem, and do magicians really
do so many tricks at the tip of their thumbs?
If the conversation included the value of a
locking key wouldn't the listener assume that
all keys are used to lock something? Why would
magicians think differently?
If the
discussion were of the IBM it might suggest
that we magicians all favor the IBM PC rather
than the MAC. What would the listener think
if he heard that a convention had too many Zombies
and not enough dealers? Would it mean a bunch
of stoned tricksters with no source for drugs?
I guess the close up pad would indicate that
home is not far away-
Finally,
to bring this to a close I'll relate a conversation
that actually happened between Ken Fletcher
and me a few years ago. Ken and his Magic Masters
crew are truly masters at demonstrating the
Coin in the Bottle. Their presentation is so
strong that it sends you home digging into the
bottom of the shoe box looking for the old folding
coin. Ken and I were in the lobby of the Atlanta
Hilton enjoying a brew and talking magic. The
Coin in the Bottle was the subject when I asked
him, "How do you keep the rubber from breaking?"
His reply, "Put on two rubbers!" Can you imagine
the fly on the wall who might have been listening?
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