Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- Houdini, Harry 1874-1926. American magician known for his escapes from chains, handcuffs, straitjackets, and padlocked containers.
Wiktionary
- n. The magician and escape artist Harry Houdini.
- n. An escape artist.
- v. to appear, vanish, or escape a difficult situation quickly.
WordNet 3.0
- n. United States magician (born in Hungary) famous for his ability to escape from chains or handcuffs or straitjackets or padlocked containers (1874-1926)
Etymologies
- Invented by Harry Houdini from the French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin (Wiktionary)
Examples
“JOSEPH TACOPINA, HOUDINI FAMILY ATTORNEY: The Houdini case is a mystery because the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death, the unanswered questions surrounding his death, and the medical impossibilities attributed to his death have caused this family to want answers.”
“HOUDINI The great escape Vol. 1 (Intro to Materials and Shaders in Houdini)”
“As early as 1899 the word Houdini began to be used synonymously with escape.”
“Years before, a female imitator had the gall to call herself “Miss Lincoln Houdini,” with the word Houdini being triple the size of Lincoln.”
“Mr. Parvaiz's bail was tripled after Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi told Middlesex Superior Court Judge Robert Manahan that the pair had discussed pulling what they referred to as a "Houdini act" in text messages exchanged prior to the slaying.”
“He talked of adopting the name Houdini—“The name…was like magic…It stuck.””
“He was successful, but ironically, he didn’t understand that as a verb, “houdinize” was meaningless, since the word Houdini had already become a noun and adjective.”
“More than 80 years after his death, Houdini is still referred to as the greatest magician who ever lived, or disappeared.”
“Search for them with a 3/16-ounce shaky-head jig dressed with a 4-inch green pumpkin Houdini Worm on 6-pound line.”
“Intelligent cause' can't explain Houdini's tricks on its own, but it could (to me, certainly is) well be a property of the explanation.”
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