Magic & Wizardry for Hangman 🪄

Clues for every answer

A one-line clue for every answer, easy to hard. They're the same clues the game's 💡 Hint shows, so you can read them out when you run your own game.

Wand

Thin, light rod, traditionally wooden; in the Harry Potter books, it chooses its owner.

Spell

Magic effect brought about by special words; the same word means saying a word's letters in order.

Genie

Fictional magical being usually bound to obey whoever holds its container, like the one in Aladdin's lamp.

Witch

Evil magic-user in Hansel and Gretel who lives in a house made of bread, cake and sugar.

Broom

Sweeping brush with a long handle; in Harry Potter, players fly on them to play Quidditch.

Charm

Small lucky trinket worn on a bracelet; it is also the word for a group of goldfinches.

Curse

Harmful spell or wish; in Sleeping Beauty an evil fairy puts one on a princess.

Potion

Magic drink; a love one, also called a philtre, is meant to make the drinker fall in love.

Wizard

Magic-user such as Gandalf, who leads the Company of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings.

Cape

Sleeveless outer garment that hangs loosely from the neck or shoulders.

Toad

Kind of frog with dry, bumpy skin; folklore said witches' animal helpers were often creatures like it.

Rune

Letter of the old alphabets of the Germanic peoples; the word is linked to an old word for 'secret, magic'.

Fairy

Magical being from European folklore; Tinker Bell in the Peter Pan stories is a famous one.

Crystal

Solid whose atoms are in a neat repeating pattern, like a snowflake; fortune-tellers often use balls of it or of glass.

Cloak

Loose outer garment; Harry Potter's, passed down from his father, lets him sneak about unseen.

Orb

Round ball or sphere, such as the Sun, a planet or a star; in poems it can even mean an eye.

Gem

Precious piece of mineral that is cut or polished to make jewellery; also called a jewel.

Sparkle

To shine with tiny flashes of light, or twinkle; fizzy drinks do it with little bubbles.

Glitter

Tiny flat shiny bits in many shapes and colours, used in crafts, clothes and make-up.

Scroll

Roll of papyrus, parchment or paper with writing on it, used before bound books.

Sorcerer

Magician of folklore and fantasy; the first Harry Potter book's US title ends '___'s Stone'.

Cauldron

Large pot for boiling; Macbeth's witches use one and chant 'Double, double toil and trouble'.

Enchant

To put someone under a magic spell, or to delight and charm them.

Mystic

Strange, obscure or enigmatic; a word with a similar meaning is 'arcane'.

Alchemy

Ancient tradition that tried to turn metals such as lead into gold; it helped shape chemistry.

Amulet

Object, usually worn, that people believe protects them from trouble or danger.

Conjure

To perform magic tricks, or to picture something in your mind.

Familiar

In folklore, a spirit helper of a witch, most often a small animal such as a cat, rat or hare.

Illusion

Magician's trick, such as sawing a person in half, or anything that gives a false impression.

Sorcery

Magical power, or the use of the magic arts; another word for wizardry.

Spellbook

Volume of written magic formulas; another name for a grimoire.

Hexed

Under an evil spell, cursed, or plagued by bad luck.

Hocus Pocus

Classic magic words a stage magician says; once also a name for a magician or juggler.

Vanish

To slip out of view without anyone noticing; also a magic trick where something seems to go.

Trickster

Clever character in myths and folk tales who breaks the normal rules, like Brer Rabbit or Loki.

Unicorn

Legendary creature with a single spiralling horn on its forehead, often shown as a white horse.

Wishing Well

Fountain, spring or other water feature that people toss coins into as they hope for something.

Sorceress

Female magic-user, like Circe, who turns most of Odysseus's crew into pigs in the Odyssey.

Hourglass

Sand timer: two bulbs joined by a narrow neck, with sand flowing from the top one to the bottom.

Disappear

To go out of sight or go missing; stage magicians make things seem to do this.

Incantation

Magic formula that is spoken, sung or chanted to make something magical happen.

Necromancer

Magic-user who summons spirits of the dead; in The Hobbit, Sauron hides in Mirkwood under this title.

Thaumaturgy

Long word for wonder-working: the use of magic or wizardry.

Transmutation

Changing one chemical element into another; turning things into gold was an old goal of alchemy.

Apprentice

Trainee in a skilled trade; in a Goethe poem, one enchants a broom to fetch water for him.

Prophecy

In Macbeth, three witches make one, foretelling that he will become king.

Talisman

Magical object said to bring good fortune; it is closely linked with an amulet, which protects.

Levitation

Stage illusion in which a magician makes a person or object seem to float in the air.

Soothsayer

Fortune-teller; in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, one warns Caesar to 'Beware the Ides of March'.

Invisibility

Being impossible to see; in fantasy stories, magic rings, cloaks or potions can give it.

Grimoire

Textbook of magic with instructions for spells and charms; its name probably comes from French 'grammar'.

Arcane

Understood by only a few, needing secret or mysterious knowledge.

Abracadabra

Magic word common in stage magic; long ago it was written on amulets meant to cure fever.

Clairvoyant

Person claimed to see distant events beyond the normal senses; the word means 'one who sees clearly'.

Shapeshifter

Character in myths and stories who can change their body into another form, like a werewolf.

Enchantress

Female magic-user such as Morgan le Fay, who is most often King Arthur's sister in the legends.

Prestidigitation

Skill at performing magic or conjuring tricks with the hands; another word for sleight of hand.

Philosopher's Stone

Mythic substance of alchemy said to turn lead into gold; the first Harry Potter book is named after it.

Sleight Of Hand

Deft finger skill used by performers, closely linked with close-up magic and card magic.

Legerdemain

Old word, borrowed from French, for magic trickery done with nimble hands.