Ωραία εξήγηση (αν δεν κάνει κανείς τη βόλτα του από τη Wikipedia, κάτι χάνει). Για να μην αδικήσω το OED, θεωρεί τη χρήση του Μπέρναρντ Σο άσχετη με την υπόλοιπη ιστορία τού
magic bullet. Τα υπόλοιπα παραδείγματα ξεκινάνε με τον Έρλιχ, παραμένουν ιατρικά και μόνο στο τελευταίο έχουμε εξωϊατρική χρήση:
1940 Life 4 Mar. 74/3 In 1910 the little physician who said: ‘We must learn to shoot microbes with *magic bullets’, was acclaimed for ‘the greatest single therapeutic agent known to medicine’. 1949 M. Marquardt Paul Ehrlich ix. 91 The antibodies‥are Magic Bullets, which find their target by themselves. 1954 Antibiotics & Chemotherapy IV. 250 Paul Ehrlich‥once said, ‘We have to learn to make magic bullets, which, like those of the ancient fable, will not miss the mark and will destroy only those pathogenic agents they are aimed at.’ 1976 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 13 Sept. 1286/3 Laetrile, no longer claimed to be a ‘magic bullet’ that destroys cancer cells with cyanide. 1988 Times 24 Mar. 5/2 Monoclonal antibodies, popularly known as ‘magic bullets’, can be directed against cancer cells, bacteria and viruses. 1990 Gay Times May 10/4 Finding a ‘magic bullet’ against HIV is a daunting task; some experts believe it is impossible. 1992 Jrnl. (Milwaukee) 25 July a6/1 No one has yet found a magic bullet for quickly cutting Milwaukee's crime rate.