whammy

American  

[wam-ee, hwam-ee] / ˈwæm i, ˈʰwæm i /

noun

Informal.

plural

whammies

1. a devastating blow, setback, or catastrophe.

   The drought and the high price of fertilizer are a double whammy to farmers.

   The big whammy will be the coming update, which could make our software nonfunctional.

2. bad luck or misfortune.

3. Often the whammy the evil eye; jinx.

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idioms

1. put the whammy on,

   1. to give the evil eye to; jinx.

   2. to destroy, end, or eradicate.

      New controls will put the whammy on irresponsible spending.

whammy British  

/ ˈwæmɪ /

noun

1. something which has great, often negative, impact

   the double whammy of high interest rates and low wage increases

2. an evil spell or curse

   she was convinced he had put the whammy on her

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Etymology

Origin of whammy

First recorded in 1935–40; wham + -y ², after a method of jinxing someone by striking the fist into the palm

Example Sentences

A double whammy of cutbacks in venture capital and government funding have taken a toll, leading to layoffs and struggles for job seekers.

From The Wall Street Journal

And then they score from it, which is the double whammy.

From BBC

"And that double whammy of flu plus strikes means that there is an additional burden now on other NHS staff."

From BBC

It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "extremely worried" about the "double whammy" of rising numbers of flu patients in hospitals and forthcoming resident doctor strikes.

From BBC

And while he’s not one for self-pity, he acknowledges that the loss has been a brutal double whammy.

From Los Angeles Times

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