black magic

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

black magic
    n 1: the belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or
         evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world
         [syn: {sorcery}, {black magic}, {black art}, {necromancy}]

from Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)

black magic
 n.

   [common] A technique that works, though nobody really understands why.
   More obscure than {voodoo programming}, which may be done by cookbook.
   Compare also {black art}, {deep magic}, and {magic number} (sense 2).

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

black magic

   <jargon> (Or "{FM}") A technique that works, though nobody
   really understands why.  More obscure than {voodoo
   programming}, which may be done by {cookbook}.

   Compare {black art}, {deep magic}, and {magic number}.

   (2001-04-30)

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

19 Moby Thesaurus words for "black magic":
      Black Mass, Satanism, chthonian worship, demonism, demonography,
      demonolatry, demonology, demonomancy, demonomy, demonry,
      devil lore, devil worship, devilry, diablerie, diabolism,
      diabology, diabolology, sorcery, the black art

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