whim-wham

American  

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

noun

1. any odd or fanciful object or thing; a gimcrack.

2. Informal. whim-whams, nervousness; jitters.

   He had the whim-whams after the accident.

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whim-wham British  

noun

1. archaic something fanciful; a trifle

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Etymology

Origin of whim-wham

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

Example Sentences

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

From The Weathercock Being the Adventures of a Boy with a Bias by Cooper, A.W.

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

From The Weathercock Being the Adventures of a Boy with a Bias by Cooper, A.W.

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

From Twice Told Tales by Hawthorne, Nathaniel