magilla

/məˈɡɪlə/

Etymology

From Yiddish מגילה (megile, “a lengthy document, a long story”), from Hebrew מגילה / מְגִלָּה (məḡillāh, “a scroll”). Doublet of megillah.

Why this word is great

MAGILLA — [Noun] Something large, elaborate, or an epitome of its kind; also, a big fuss or messy situation. From Yiddish מגילה (megile, "a lengthy document, a long story"), from Hebrew מְגִלָּה (məḡillāh, "a scroll"). Doublet of megillah. Unlike "megillah" (which suggests a tedious, interminable tale) or "spectacle" (which demands visual grandeur), "magilla" carries the weight of both excess and exemplar—a thing so fully itself it becomes an event. It is the towering, frosted birthday cake that collapses under its own splendor, the family feud that spirals into legend, or the vintage Cadillac, chrome gleaming like a misplaced crown, parked defiantly in a driveway of cracked concrete—proof that bigness, in all its forms, is never just about size.

noun

  1. Something large or elaborate.“No, I didn't wear them. I got dressed up. Pantyhose, makeup, the whole magilla.”
  2. A big fuss or messy situation.“Now after this magilla, please be ashamed of yourself and sit down & write a nice long letter”
  3. An epitome; an acme; an exemplar.““It's not just one more thing, this is the big magilla,” Keena said.”
  4. Someone big and brutish; a gorilla.“Big, stupid magillas with guns.”