92 MAGIC WORDS "Not little by little, but -- shazam! -- all at once." -- Mari Messer, Pencil Dancing (2001) • Look "[P]ointing to the right, [he said,] 'Shazam!' He stopped on the shoulder, and we admired the scene. The Humboldt River, blue and full, was flowing toward us, with panes of white ice at its edges, sage and green meadow beside it, and dry russet uplands rising behind." -- John McPhee, Annals of the Former World (1981) • Magic, act of "Okay -- shazzam, it's done!" -- Robert L. Voyles, Ransom for Justice (2000) "Five minutes later, shazam! He was system manager." -- Clifford Stoll, The Cuckoo's Egg (1989) • Magical powers "With practice, he'll soon become a master [at hammering nails]. It's the next best thing to giving him the power of shazam." -- Walter Browder, 101 Secrets a Good Dad Knows (2000) • Magic word "The genie will pop out before you can say 'Shazam.'" -- Dan Anderson and Maggie Berman, Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man (1997) • Mind-boggling "[T]he world is going shazam." -- Norman Mailer, Why Are We in Vietnam? A Novel (1967) • Nonsense "Usually the words were some sort of nonsense like 'Shazam.' My magic words have turned out to be 'I don't know.'" -- Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom (1996) • Revive "[T]he chairs begin to shake and lightning outside / Shazams you back to life." -- Frederick Seidel, The Cosmos Trilogy (200 ) • Solution "'I need a 'shazam,' Jason said. 'A brilliant way out of my pickle.'" -- Herbert Benson, The Breakout Principle (200 ) Origins: This Arabic-sounding word likely dates back to the culture of ancient Egypt.27 Facts: Famously, Shazam is the trigger to transform the boy Billy Batson into the superhero Captain Marvel, as in the comic books. In the television series (1974-1977), the letters stand for the six elder gods and heroes who grant the powers: Solomon (wisdom), Hercules (strength), Achilles (courage), Zeus (power), Atlas (stamina) and Mercury (speed). However, in the comic book, Shazam is simply the name of a 000-year-old Egyptian wizard who grants Billy Batson the power to transform. "I am old now," Shazam says; "You 27 Barbara Johnstone, Discourse Analysis (2002)