Shift/Pass terminology

[4ofClubs]

These two terms seem to be more or less interchangeable. I imagine this is because I am missing some subtlety? Any insight on what separates a shift from a pass?

 

[TeeDee]

They're pretty much equivalent from a technical point of view. I suppose, from a linguistic perspective, "shift" has more connotations of card table artifice and "pass" is a magic term, but go back far enough in the literature and even that doesn't apply. So, I'd say, to all intents and purposes, they're interchangeable.

 

[TheMagicalSock]

I am by no means an authority, but this is what I have gathered in my studies.

A shift can be with any number of cards and refers to any movement of cards, either seen or unseen. The pass is a term generally attributed to the shifting of two packets, unseen, but admittedly there is some variance to that rule.

For example, the diagonal palm shift involves one card palmed to the left hand. The erdnase shift could be called a pass as it involves two packets, but the sleight is open to the spectator (seen without misdirection).

The top card cover pass involves two packets and is completely hidden without misdirection. The classic pass and essentially every pass I can think of falls under the same parameters.