Here’s a fun word for you: prestidigitation. According to the vocabulary-building resource of Merriam-Webster, prestidigitation means “sleight of hand”, which conjures specific examples in the mind. The less mature part of my brain also gravitates to “presdigitate” and how the phrase “prestidigitate everywhere” in nonsensical but sounds slightly dirty. I’m fairly certain that is not a legitimate form of the word; at least, it is omitted by Merriam-Webster. They do not, however, omit “prestidigitator”, one who does prestidigitation, so could a prestidigitator not prestidigitate in multiple places? Alas, we are here to play by the rules with prestidigitation as the focus.

Now that we know what prestidigitation means, what examples from the wild come to mind? I think of magic tricks or cheating at cards, both requiring misdirection and sleight of hand. The classic “thumb between the index and middle fingers” to represent pulling off someone’s nose is also a decent, if not simple and unreliable depending on the quarry, example. As a gamer, the “sleight of hand” definition immediately sends vibes of the traditional Call of Duty perk that allows for expeditious reloading. Since I always feel like a digital bullet-spraying noob, I practiced copious prestidigitation. Now, those are easy and obvious prestidigital (note, I did not get a squiggly on the use of ‘prestidigital’ even though it does not appear to be legit) representations. We need to expand our understanding, however, so let’s see how the internet uses prestidigitation.

I can confidently say I was not expecting the top prestidigitation use cases to come from Dungeons & Dragons, but after reading several of them, it makes complete sense. Prestidigitation essentially acts as a character dexterity buff that helps with spell casting, trait deflection to redirect aggro, and charm presentation or secretive holding to alter interaction outcomes. While I am not a D&D aficionado, the RPG rooting in something like “Gloves of Prestidigitation” that increases the owner’s ability to bypass straightforward challenges is sound. The wearer could dupe the townspeople to steal their gold while slipping unearned coins into the wealthy landowner’s pocket, to obviously frame his involvement, after you lured him to the pub and knocked him unconscious. Passersby will simply think him a teetotaller but notice the surprising amount of gold on his person, immediately linking him as the thief that ravaged their hard-earned savings. As they haul him before the constable, you can slip out of town wealthier and never to be seen again.

Anyway, prestidigitation is a fun word if not a mouthful to get out. Now, go forth and prestidigitate out in the world.