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magic wand

magic wand

18 4.2
A thin stick thought to have magic powers or a simple solution to a hard problem
  • noun
  • /ˈmædʒɪk wɑnd/
translation icon : varita mágica
  • With a wave of her magic wand, the fairy transformed the pumpkin into a carriage.

I was a simple thing and it's not our magic wand that can help, right?

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Examples

  • Write down all the things you would like to change if you had a magic wand.

    Blog text (7)
  • If you could wave a magic wand, what would you ask for?

  • Is there a top three list of things that if you had a magic wand, you would see everyone do each day?

  • Then wait my signal and be ready with your magic wands.

  • Sir, will you wave your magic wand and make me sweet 16 again?

  • "We cannot just wave a magic wand and get new infrastructure that is independent of fossil fuels."

    Blog text (16)
  • Well, I can't just wave my magic wand and make it all come right.

  • I just waved the magic wand and the ball disappears.

  • In this survey, she confided, "If I had a magic wand, I would want them to be there always with me" (Item 7).

    Academic text (2012)
  • We concede that there is no magic wand to overcome our country's problems.

    Blog text (9)

Synonyms

wand
vsmagic wand
  • Literature
86 4.1

A thin stick used by magicians to do magic or find water

is used specifically to cast spells and also as a figurative simple solution

How Magical

magic wand
18 4.2
wand
  • Literature
86 4.1
stick
686 1.0

Surface Forms

magic wand singular
magic wands plural

Morphology

magic + wand

The primary meaning — a stick used to perform magic — is directly and transparently derived from 'magic' (supernatural power) + 'wand' (a stick used by magicians), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily understand it. The figurative sense ('a simple solution') is a natural, image-based extension of that literal meaning and remains interpretable from the constituents and common cross-linguistic metaphors.

Etymology

Magic wand comes from fairy tales where a small stick, the wand, is waved to make things happen at once. Because people imagined that a single wave could solve a big problem, the phrase now means a quick 'solution' or easy 'fix' for a hard situation.