magic, magical According to Fowler 1926 the distinguishing
features of magic and magical are that (1)
magic is almost always used attributively and (2) magic
is used literally and in fixed phrases while magical is
used with extended meaning. Shaw 1975 objects to figurative
uses of magic and magical because he believes
they are overused; he also advises using magical when
magic cannot be used attributively. Chambers 1985
assigns literal uses to magic and figurative uses to magical.
We agree to some extent with Fowler and Shaw, but
not with Chambers. Here is what we have found in the
evidence we have collected.
The adjective magic is almost exclusively an attributive
adjective, partly because the word magic after a
linking verb can be construed either as a noun or an
adjective. Magical can be either an attributive or a predicate
adjective, but attributive uses are about three
times as common as the others. So nonattributive uses
of either word are relatively uncommon. Attributive
uses that are part of fixed phrases (as magic carpet,
magic square, and magic number) call for magic, not
magical.
Both words are used with literal force to refer to the
supernatural.
. . . bulls and stags represented a greater magic
potency —Katharine Kuh, Saturday Rev., 20 Nov.
1971
The practice of using human fat as a powerful magical
ingredient —A. W. Howitt, in A Reader in General
Anthropology, ed. Carleton S. Coon, 1948
And both are commonly used with extended meanings,
though their connotations may differ. Magic often
implies some kind of instant effect, while magical often
involves a feeling such as enchantment. These are only
tendencies, however, because the figurative uses of the
two words overlap quite a bit.
. . . the magic solution to the defense problem in
Europe —J. F. Golay, New Republic, 19 Apr. 1954
. . . a man who really had the magic touch —Leonard
Bernstein, Atlantic, April 1955
. . . the magic plainness of La Fontaine's language —
Richard Wilbur, N. Y. Times Book Rev., 14 Oct. 1979
. . . looked more and more magical and silvery as it
danced away —G. K. Chesterton, The Innocence of
Father Brown, 1911
. . . its magical mornings and its incomparable sunsets
—Paul Bowles, Holiday, March 1957
. . . the magical ease with which they are summoned
forth —Daniel Menaker, Harper's, October 1972
Whether or not the figurative meanings are, as Shaw
and Nickles 1974 say, overused to the point of weakening
the strength of the words, is a matter of opinion and
a matter beyond anyone's control. One problem here is
that, having become sensitive to a word or turn of
phrase, one tends to think of it as more frequently used
than a careful statistical count would warrant. From a
practical point of view, since many writers of quality
find that magic and magical serve them well in figurative
uses, there is no good reason for you to feel they are
forbidden to you. As with any other word, however,
avoid overusing magic or magical within the context of
your own writing.
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