whiz-bang

or whiz·bang, whizz-bang

[ noun hwiz-bang, wiz-; adjective hwiz-bang, wiz- ]

noun

1. Military. a small, high-speed shell whose sound as it flies through the air arrives almost at the same instant as its explosion.
2. a firecracker with a similar effect.
3. Informal. whiz ¹( def 5 ).

adjective

1. Informal. first-rate; topnotch:

   a whiz-bang navigator.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whiz-bang¹

First recorded in 1910–15; imitative of the sound

Example Sentences

And so what they assumed was going to be like whiz-bang-fireworks was a lot more subtle than that.

From The Daily Beast

Well, over the top we went and we got to the place he had pointed out; we had barely lain down in a shell hole when whiz-bang!

From Project Gutenberg

We had almost reached the front lines when one of our officers got hit in the face by a piece of "whiz-bang."

From Project Gutenberg

Just as the order reached us along came a whiz-bang and burst.

From Project Gutenberg

Suddenly—“whiz-bang, whiz-bang” right at the door of the dugout.

From Project Gutenberg

"Yes, up went my little 'and like a whiz-bang," announced Bindle.

From Project Gutenberg