Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1828
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RICTUM-TICKTUM, n. Appar. some meaningless formula used in conjuring or sleight-of-hand, “hocus-pocus”, “mumbo-jumbo”. Used attrib. in quot. = illusory, deceptive.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch vii.:
He would . . . fall down as dead as a bag of sand; yet, by their rictum-ticktum, rise-up-Jack, sleight-of-hand, hocus-pocus way, would be on his legs, brushing the stour from his breeches knees, before the green curtain was half-way down.
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"Rictum-ticktum n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/rictumticktum>
