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; 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.

For want of some piquancy, which our eye does not catch in the French journals, we sum up our chit-chat with this pleasant whim-wham of English flavor: My man Davis is a bit of a character.

From Project Gutenberg

He has gone to buy screws, or something, to make a whim-wham to wind up the sun.”

From Project Gutenberg

I was saying break out directly with a rash desire to spend more money upon a whim-wham to wind up the sun.”

From Project Gutenberg

So much for the commencement of this long whim-wham.

From Project Gutenberg

Come aloft, bullets three, with a whim-wham.

From Project Gutenberg

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