hey presto
1
8.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
y voilà
- After following the instructions carefully, hey presto, the project was completed successfully.
Examples
-
All you need is a trench coat, and hey presto!
-
We can go to the Start menu, close down Windows in the normal fashion, and hey presto, we're back in Linux.
-
And now, just like that, hey presto, the game was up.
Fiction book (2001) -
And you just point the Navicator and fire like so, and, hey presto, you have your position.
-
And, hey, presto, there's a car nearly on you.
-
He didn't just simply do, hey presto, turn this into that.
-
Hey, presto!
-
Hook it up to a mill or a loom and, hey presto, instant fame.
Blog text (24) -
Hey presto!
Blog text (7) -
You only need to say something similar to Prof Emmanuel and, hey presto, you're back in the mainstream.
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
183
4.2
Happens suddenly without warning or effort
1
8.6
Said when you show something that just appears or is ready
Said when something happens suddenly, as if by magic
Suddenly and completely as if by magic
How Magical
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'suddenly or as if by magic' is directly signalled by the constituent 'presto' (instant/like magic) while 'hey' functions as an attention-getting exclamation; their combination simply sequences these senses. This compositional pattern (exclamation + instantaneous marker) is transparent and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The exclamation hey presto comes from stage magicians who said presto, an Italian word meaning 'quick', while they did a magic trick, and often added a cheerful 'hey' to get attention. That's why today hey presto means 'suddenly' or 'as if by magic'.