Fool me once: the magical origin of the word hoax

"The word "hoax" sprang like a rabbit out of a hat from the magician's incantation hocus pocus, according to Dave Wilton, the editor of Wordorigins.org. "We know pretty much certainly that the term Hocus Pocus was the stage name of a magician by the name of William Vincent, who was operating around the 1620s." Where Vincent got the phrase, however, is less certain."

"One theory suggests that it is a deliberate corruption of the Latin used as part of the Catholic Eucharistic liturgy, "Hoc est enim corpus meum" or "This is My body." Though speculative, the idea is not out of the question. Vincent, who was English, lived during the religiously charged Thirty-Years War (1618 to 1648) when Anglican England, which indirectly aided the Protestant side in the conflict, would have been steeped in anti-Catholic sentiment."

"Thomas Ady, the 17th century author of a skeptical treatise on witchcraft A Candle in the Dark appears to refer to Vincent without naming him directly. Ady describes him as a man who excelled at stage trickery during the time of King James who called himself "The Kings Majesties most excellent Hocus Pocus because ... at the playing of every Trick, he used to say, Hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo, a dark composure of words, to blinde the eyes of the beholders ""

Hoax denotes frauds, swindles, cons, scams, and deceptions. The term traces to the magician's incantation "hocus pocus." William Vincent reportedly used "Hocus Pocus" as a stage name around the 1620s. The precise origin of the phrase remains uncertain. One theory proposes deliberate corruption of the Latin Eucharistic phrase "Hoc est enim corpus meum" ("This is My body"). Vincent lived during the Thirty-Years War when Anglican England held strong anti-Catholic sentiment. Thomas Ady referenced a performer who used a dark composite of words—mixing genuine Latin with playful nonsense—to blind the eyes of beholders.

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