Dictionary

presto chango en · INTJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌpɹɛs.toʊ ˈtʃeɪn.dʒoʊ/ (General-American)
• /ˌpɹɛs.təʊ ˈtʃeɪn.dʒəʊ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From presto + rhyming variation of change.

Meanings

1. (informal) Indicates the suddenness of a change or transformation, as a magic trick in which one object appears to be suddenly transformed into another.
   • 1929, Business Week, advertisement, Just one touch lets you go from black to a second color. Presto. Chango. Or back to black. Presto. Chango. Color copies have never been easier.
   • PRESTO CHANGO! From a dreary, commonplace piece to a smart colorful chair shining with personality. 1937 April 24, Washington Post, page 12:
   • Tom nodded solemnly. "Presto Chango," he said. Then he looked at the policeman again. "My name is Joshua Cameron," he announced, and the policeman wrote that down. 1983, Lois Lowry, Taking Care of Terrific, Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, →ISBN, page 158:
   • Jesus is the ultimate stain lifter. He removes the stain of our sin, and presto, chango! 2014, Mike Lutz, God Every Day: 365 Life Application Devotions:
   • "...An' presto-chango, you got yourself a twenty-eight-by-sixty-foot house." 1978, Richard Rhodes, Holy Secrets, Doubleday, →ISBN, page 31:
   • Watch and before your eyes, presto chango, a capital crime of the most hideous sort will be turned into a superstition,.... 2000, Candace Sherk Savage, Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca, Sterling Publishing, →ISBN, page 8:

Forms

Synonyms

shazam · presto chango · alakazam · kazaam · presto · shablam · hey pass · hey presto · presto · hocus-pocus · hey presto · abracadabra