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A.Word.A.Day--juju

juju (JOO-joo) noun

1. A fetish or charm.

2. The magic or supernatural power attributed to such an object.

[Of uncertain origin, perhaps from west African language Hausa juju (fetish), probably from French joujou (toy).]

"So next time they were flying, his pilot aimed the plane upward at a steep angle and then pointed it downward, and through whatever aeronautical juju was created, Francis found himself floating in the air." Vanessa Grigoriadis; Wild Thing; Rolling Stone (New York); Jun 6, 2002.

"Howard's juju man may even organise largely undeserved credit for him as a buyer of time to design an acceptable republic." Frank Devine; Media No Match For a Phantom Juju Man; The Australian (Sydney); May 25, 2000.

This week's theme: words borrowed from African languages.

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