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Short "hint"

n. - The musician in a novel by George du Maurier who controls Trilby's singing hypnotically; Someone (usually maleficent) who tries to persuade or force another person to do his bidding.

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Usage examples (36)
  • Reporters rushed to profile Pearlman as the unlikely impresario — some said "Svengali" — of a new era of boy bands.
  • It seems to me that Kid Rock is the kind of Svengali she could use: someone who could help her find her voice as a full-fledged woman.
  • "I wrote 'Svengali' when Britney Spears was having her very public meltdown," explains Epoxy.
  • "I am, however, my own Svengali, which is rather preferable to the patent detachable hypnotizer you had.
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