whammy

whammy
/hwam"ee, wam"ee/, n., pl. whammies. Informal.
1. the evil eye; jinx.
2. bad luck or misfortune.
3. a devastating blow, setback, or catastrophe: The drought and the high price of fertilizer are a double whammy to farmers.
4. put the whammy on,
a. to give the evil eye to; jinx.
b. to destroy, end, or eradicate: New controls will put the whammy on irresponsible spending.
[1935-40; WHAM + -Y2, one of the methods of putting a whammy on someone being to strike the fist into the palm]

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  • Whammy — can refer to: * The villain of the game show Press Your Luck and its spin off series, Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck ** Whammy! Push Your Luck , the Philippine franchise. * Whammy! A 1983 album by The B 52 s * A whammy bar is a colloquial… …   Wikipedia

  • Whammy — steht für: Whammy Bar, der Tremolo Arm der Gitarre, siehe Tremolo (Gitarre) ein Musikalbum einer amerikanischen Rockband, siehe The B 52’s ein Gitarreneffektgerät der Firma Digitech, mit dem es möglich ist, Töne über mehrere Oktaven nach unten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • whammy — [n] spell abracadabra*, charm, conjuration, curse, double whammy*, evil eye, hex, hexing, hocus pocus*, jinx, magic, mumbo jumbo*, triple whammy*, voodoo; concepts 370,673,689 …   New thesaurus

  • whammy — often double whammy, hex, evil eye, 1932, of unknown origin, popularized 1941 in Al Capp s comic strip Li l Abner …   Etymology dictionary

  • whammy — ☆ whammy [hwamē, wamē ] n. pl. whammies Slang a jinx or the evil eye: usually in put a (or the) whammy on …   English World dictionary

  • whammy — ► NOUN (pl. whammies) informal ▪ an event with a powerful and unpleasant effect; a blow …   English terms dictionary

  • whammy — /ˈwæmi/ (say wamee) Colloquial –noun (plural whammies) 1. a forceful influence, spell, etc.: the witch s whammy immobilised him. –phrase 2. double whammy, a surprising and unexpected event, either especially fortunate or unfortunate, which… …  

  • Whammy! — Infobox Album | Name = Whammy! Type = Album Artist = The B 52 s Released = April 27, 1983 Recorded = December, 1982 Genre = New Wave Length = 37:17 Label = Warner Brothers Producer = Steven Stanley Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|3|5… …   Wikipedia

  • whammy — [[t](h)wæ̱mi[/t]] N SING: adj N Whammy is used in expressions such as double whammy and triple whammy to indicate that two or three unpleasant or difficult situations occur at the same time, or occur one after the other. [mainly JOURNALISM] This… …   English dictionary

  • whammy — wham|my [ˈwæmi] n [singular] informal [Date: 1900 2000; Origin: Probably from wham] 1.) double/triple whammy two or three unpleasant things that happen at or around the same time and cause problems or difficulties for someone or for people in… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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