willy-willy
Americannoun
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A column of dust, held aloft by a willy-willy, rises high into the air in South Australia.
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another willy-willy forming over the Timor Sea.
noun
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a duststorm
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obsolete a tropical cyclone
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of willy-willy
First recorded in 1890–95; of obscure origin; probably from an Australian Aboriginal language
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Land of politicians silly, Home of wind and willy-willy, Land of blanket tent and billy Westralia.
From Time Magazine Archive
Australians call it willy-willy; Filipinos, baguios; Chinese, tai-fun; Indians, typhoon.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Tree of mine, tree of mine, Have you seen a girl With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag, Who's stole my money, all I had?"
From More English Fairy Tales by Batten, John Dickson
Presently the witch came up and said: "Tree of mine, tree of mine, Have you seen a girl, With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag, Who's stole my money, all I had?"
From More English Fairy Tales by Batten, John Dickson
When the witch came up she said: "Tree of mine, tree of mine, Have you seen a girl With a willy-willy wag, and a long-tailed bag, Who stole my money, all I had?"
From More English Fairy Tales by Batten, John Dickson
"You'll end by giving me the willy-willies, too," complained Bob.
From The Rules of the Game by White, Stewart Edward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
