whapper

[hwop-er, wop-]

noun

whopper.

whopper

or whap·per

[hwop-er, wop-]

noun Informal.

something uncommonly large of its kind.

a big lie.

Origin of whopper

First recorded in 1775–85; whop + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for whapper

Historical Examples of whapper

I know'd this was a whapper of a lie, as soon as I heard it.
A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, of the State of Tennessee.
Davy Crockett
And turning to Tengelyi, he added, "That boy Imri is a whapper, sir; but the other chap's a scurvy rat!"
The Village Notary
Jzsef Etvs

British Dictionary definitions for whapper

whopper

noun informal

anything uncommonly large of its kind

a big lie

Word Origin for whopper

C18: from whop

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for whapper

whopper

1785, formed as if from whop (v.) "to beat, overcome." Meaning "big lie" is recorded first in 1791. Whopping "large, big, impressive" is attested by 1620s.