whiz-bang
or whiz·bang, whizz-bang
[ noun hwiz-bang, wiz-; adjective hwiz-bang, wiz- ]
/ noun ˈʰwɪzˌbæŋ, ˈwɪz-; adjective ˈʰwɪzˈbæŋ, ˈwɪz- /
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noun
Military. a small, high-speed shell whose sound as it flies through the air arrives almost at the same instant as its explosion.
a firecracker with a similar effect.
Informal. whiz1 (def. 5).
adjective
Informal. first-rate; topnotch: a whiz-bang navigator.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Origin of whiz-bang
First recorded in 1910–15; imitative of the sound
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use whiz-bang in a sentence
Then, like the whizbang of a fire cracker, a thought struck him.
Red Dynamite|Roy J. SnellCome and be experimented on by Sergt.-Major Whizbang, the great military spellbinder.