fairy dust

Noun

fairy dust (uncountable)

1. A magical powder that would give the power of flight to whoever it was sprinkled on.
   • Of course Peter had been trifling with them, for no one can fly unless the fairy dust has been blown on him.1911, J[ames] M[atthew] Barrie, “Come away, Come away!”, in Peter and Wendy, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 54

   Synonyms:

   pixie dust

2. (broadly) Any apparently magical ingredient or effect; a panacea.
   • It's not that some magic private sector fairy dust makes the firms all be runs^([sic]) soundly. Lots of bad businesses are out there. But they tend to lose money and close.2011 May 19, Megan McArdle, quoting Matt Yglesias, “When Should Governments Contract Out?”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC
3. (slang) The drug phencyclidine.
   • This led to a certain amount of complacency on my part and certainly the fairy dust and mescaline cocktails I took day and night could only have contributed to my uncommonly satiated drive for a good fuck.2001, Simon Logan, I-O, Prime, →ISBN, page 102

   Synonyms:

   angel dust