whim-wham

American

[hwim-hwam, wim-wam] / ˈʰwɪmˌʰwæm, ˈwɪmˌwæm /

noun

any odd or fanciful object or thing; a gimcrack.
Informal. whim-whams, nervousness; jitters.

He had the whim-whams after the accident.

whim-wham British

noun

archaic something fanciful; a trifle

"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

Etymology

Origin of whim-wham

1490–1500; gradational compound; cf. flimflam, jimjams, etc.

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.

My daddy is dead, but I can’t tell you how; He left me six horses to follow the plough; With my whim wham waddle ho!

From The Baby's Opera by Crane, Walter

Be cozen'd by a thing of clouts, a she moth, That every silkmans shop breeds; to be cheated, And of a thousand duckets by a whim wham?

From Rule a Wife, and Have a Wife Beaumont & Fletcher's Works (3 of 10) by Beaumont, Francis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023