Charms lollypops sold by Tootsie Roll Industries
1charm \'charm\ n [ME charme, fr. MF, fr L carmen song, fr. canere to sing ñ more at CHANT] (14c)
a: chanting or reciting of a magic spell b: an act or expression believed to have magic power 2: something worn about the person to ward off evil or ensure good fortune: amulet 3 a: a trait that fascinates, allures, or delights b: a physical grace or attraction ñ used in plural c: compelling attractiveness 4: a small ornament worn on a bracelet or chain 5: a quantum characteristic of a quark or fundamental particle that accounts for the unexpectedly long lifetime of the J particle, explains difficulties in the theory of weak interactions, and has a value of zero for most known particles. ñ charmless
2charm vt (14c) 1 a: to affect by or as if by magic: COMPEL b: to please, soothe, or delight by compelling attraction... .2: to endow with supernatural powers by means of charms; also: to protect by spells, charms or supernatural influences 3: to control (an animal) typically by charms (--as the playing of music) (to charm a snake) vi 1: to practice magic and enchantment 2: to have the effect of a charm: fascinate syn see attract
charmed: having charm (a charmed antiquark) charmed circle: a group marked by exclusivenesscharmer 1: Enchanter, magician, 2: one that pleases or fascinates
charming: adj (1663) : extremely pleasing or delightful : entrancing --- charmingly adv
Can Money Buy Charm?
by Dave Friello
Can money buy charm? Being something of a skeptic myself, I gave it some thought. After all what is charm? Several definitions come to mind; the ability to please or delight. Another is an ornament such as a locket or bracelet; there is always the chanting of a magic spell to bring about the desired result. Way out there charm is even defined in physics class - a quantum property of the charm quark whose conservation explains the absence of certain strange-particle decay modes and that accounts for the longevity of the J particle (remember that next time you're approached by the scientific community).
But what about the money angle? Well there's the tried and true charm school. I did a quick search on the 'net and to my surpise found 198,472 pages relating to just that. Upon close inspection most were divided between pornography (something to do with dominaton), and magic - incantations and the like. The remaining pages did have actual charm schools, chock full of seminars, classes, and even charm manuals. According to The Robin Thompson Charm School, "Be The Best You Can Be" is available for $15.95, plus $3.00 postage and handling. If you feel like going the magic route, just repeat this incantation out loud to transport yourself to the nearest apothecary to pick up the magic thaumatological device or potion: "Awatafoo....liam". Repeat the spell faster and faster. There yet? Good. By the way, "Charmed" is on television too, thanks to Warner Bros.
After a reasonable amount of time, I've reached the decision charm cannot be purchased by money, like genetics, either you have it or you don't. Pleased to meet your acquaintance....
The charming Dave Friello lives in Washington, DC and was last seen in these pages contribuing his mother's donut recipe, because they look a lot like a zero which he enjoys combining with other pastries which look like ones to make a binary breakfast.