The mix of rhumba, reggae, soul and ndombolo have proven to be his magical elixir.

They ask the women what magical elixir they drink, what vitamins they take and sometimes more personal things.

Shoemaker's endurance is remarkable because he does not subject himself to a particularly tough regimen, nor does he down any magical elixirs.

"Thirty days is not any magical elixir," he said.

Ruddy knows just the right ratio of clams, cream, potatoes and seasonings that transforms a soup into a magical elixir.

The expression "lost city," popularized by Bingham, was the magical elixir for rundown imaginations.

This a story in which a witch and a magical elixir can somehow shape the course of ordinary-looking lives.

The candidate is trapped between the need to espouse a magical elixir and his well-honed skepticism for economic nostrums.

"If Mr. Gore were more confident about his purpose in running for president, he would not need magical elixirs," the editors write.

France has a rational, well-marshaled team, but it also has a touch of the magical elixir.