From the original meaning, 'a person who possesses no magical powers,' it's been extended to mean 'a person who lacks particular skills' - for instance, used by computer hackers to describe non-hackers. Muggle is the Potterism that has crossed over the most into everyday usage (it even has an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary). He compiled this quick guide to Potterisms. On Friday's Morning Edition, he talks with host Mary Louise Kelly about the special vocabulary that's arisen from Harry Potter books and films - the last of which, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, opens this weekend. He's the really (really) bad guy.īen Zimmer runs the web site Visual Thesaurus, which maps words and their relationships to each other. If you don't know who this fellow is (that's Ralph Fiennes playing him), you can find out in the Harry Potter vocabulary below.
