It can't be magic if it ain't fun to say...

Posted by Bob on July 12, 2005

In Reply to: Open sesame posted by Shae on July 12, 2005

: : Why do we say 'open sesame'? where does it originate from and why do we associate the phrase with magic?

: It's from 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves,' one of the tales of Arabian Nights. See: www.pitt.edu/ ~dash/alibaba.html

Here's a rule of thumb worth keeping: "magic words" don't become magic, and certainly don't persist over centuries, if they aren't fun to say. Felicitous and euphonious. "Open sesame" has lived on and on, spawning a million jokes about "open, says me!" which delights the children who thought it up. "Hocus pocus" is another. Regardless of its source, or seriousness, it perisits because it's (all together now:) fun to say.

Not just magic words. We get lots of queries on this forum about oaths and what they "mean." Hells bells, folks, some things are just fun to say. The most colorfulversions survive. "What in the blue blazes" will live on, "by pharoah's foot" will fade away.

• It can't be magic if it ain't fun to say... Victoria S Dennis 12/July/05
  • It can't be magic if it ain't fun to say... Bruce Kahl 12/July/05
    • Eeny, meeny ... Bob 13/July/05
      • Open sesame Israel izzy Cohen 29/July/05