Whammy
noun
A thing or event that has a big, often negative, impact.
Ryan faced the double whammy of losing his job and his father's death in the same week.
Often appears as...
- double whammy
- triple whammy
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
noun
A spell or hex that brings bad luck.
She believed that someone had put a whammy on her after she started having a series of accidents.
Often appears as...
- put a whammy on
- cast a whammy
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Idiomatic
noun
A thing or event that has a big, often negative, impact.
Ryan faced the double whammy of losing his job and his father's death in the same week.
Often appears as...
- double whammy
- triple whammy
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
noun
A spell or hex that brings bad luck.
She believed that someone had put a whammy on her after she started having a series of accidents.
Often appears as...
- put a whammy on
- cast a whammy
Usage tips
Informal, Disapproving
Idiomatic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Whammy often implies a surprising and negative effect that is difficult to deal with.
The unexpected tax hike was a real whammy for small businesses.
Pro Tip 2/3Combination Hit
A 'double' or 'triple whammy' means multiple negative impacts are felt at once.
The hurricane brought a double whammy: flooding and power outages.
Pro Tip 3/3Colloquial Use
'Whammy' is informal and often used in spoken language or casual writing.
Losing both the game and their star player to injury was a whammy for the team.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Whammy often implies a surprising and negative effect that is difficult to deal with.
The unexpected tax hike was a real whammy for small businesses.
Pro Tip 2/3Combination Hit
A 'double' or 'triple whammy' means multiple negative impacts are felt at once.
The hurricane brought a double whammy: flooding and power outages.
Pro Tip 3/3Colloquial Use
'Whammy' is informal and often used in spoken language or casual writing.
Losing both the game and their star player to injury was a whammy for the team.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Whammy often implies a surprising and negative effect that is difficult to deal with.
The unexpected tax hike was a real whammy for small businesses.
Pro Tip 2/3Combination Hit
A 'double' or 'triple whammy' means multiple negative impacts are felt at once.
The hurricane brought a double whammy: flooding and power outages.
Pro Tip 3/3Colloquial Use
'Whammy' is informal and often used in spoken language or casual writing.
Losing both the game and their star player to injury was a whammy for the team.
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Video examples
A Skeptic’s Guide to...
a disease slammed agave crops a double whammy of fungus and bacteria and just like he had warned it was the big one and i swear jacob it was not me i didn't put it in there it wasn't me right but then they reach out and they say oh my god what was that idea about the bats and the flowers
Video examples
Let's end ageism PIPE...
a global anti-ageism initiative to extend not just life span but health span. Women experience the double whammy of ageism and sexism, so we experience aging differently. There's a double standard at work here -- shocker --
Video examples
Resilient people,...
to trigger that whole social transformation to scale the first example of a regional scale political social ecological abrupt change occurring at the same time a triple whammy indeed deforestation occurring at a very
Video examples
A Skeptic’s Guide to...
a disease slammed agave crops a double whammy of fungus and bacteria and just like he had warned it was the big one and i swear jacob it was not me i didn't put it in there it wasn't me right but then they reach out and they say oh my god what was that idea about the bats and the flowers
Video examples
Let's end ageism PIPE...
a global anti-ageism initiative to extend not just life span but health span. Women experience the double whammy of ageism and sexism, so we experience aging differently. There's a double standard at work here -- shocker --
Video examples
Resilient people,...
to trigger that whole social transformation to scale the first example of a regional scale political social ecological abrupt change occurring at the same time a triple whammy indeed deforestation occurring at a very
Example 1 of 3
Quote examples
Alexandra Fuller
English Author
One of the things about being raised British in Africa is that you get this double whammy of toughness. The continent in place itself made you quite tough. And then you've got this British mother whose entire being rejects 'coddling' in case it makes you too soft. So there's absolutely nothing standing between you and a fairly rough experience.
Quote examples
Dimebag Darrell
American Musician
My whammy system is set up so I can yank the bar up as well as do dive-bombs with it. This means that if I accidentally push down on the bridge with my palm, my strings go sharp and sound out of tune. I make sure this never happens by never resting my hand on the bridge when muting. I always do my muting just in front of the bridge.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
For my wife Mary Corliss and me, 'Colbert' has been destination viewing. Even in the early years, we never took the show's excellence for granted, agreeing that someday we'd look back on the double whammy of 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' as the golden age of TV's singeing singing satire.
Quote examples
Jai Courtney
Australian Actor
I kind of missed out on those years when a lot of my friends did big backpacking trips around Europe and that sort of thing. So to be able to travel and see parts of the world on the job is kind of a double whammy.
Quote examples
Laurie Colwin
American Author
One of the delights of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.
Quote examples
Maxine Peake
English Actress
In my 20s, I was going round seeing agents who were patronising because I was fat and a girl, which was a double whammy. I knew what it was to feel out-of-the-loop.
Quote examples
Victoria Wood
British Comedian
In my 20s I was going round seeing agents who were patronising because I was fat and a girl, which was a double whammy. I knew what it was to feel out-of-the-loop.
Quote examples
Tony Cardenas
American Politician
I love chocolate, and I love ice cream. That's a double whammy there. I constantly have to check myself and say, 'I've already had dessert today.
Quote examples
Bar Paly
Israeli Model
I really, really enjoy comedy. I think that's one of my strong suits. It's my zone. And people don't expect it from me, which is a whammy.
Quote examples
Sheila Hancock
Christmas Eve is my wedding anniversary so it is a double whammy.
Quote examples
Alexandra Fuller
English Author
One of the things about being raised British in Africa is that you get this double whammy of toughness. The continent in place itself made you quite tough. And then you've got this British mother whose entire being rejects 'coddling' in case it makes you too soft. So there's absolutely nothing standing between you and a fairly rough experience.
Quote examples
Dimebag Darrell
American Musician
My whammy system is set up so I can yank the bar up as well as do dive-bombs with it. This means that if I accidentally push down on the bridge with my palm, my strings go sharp and sound out of tune. I make sure this never happens by never resting my hand on the bridge when muting. I always do my muting just in front of the bridge.
Quote examples
Richard Corliss
American Writer
For my wife Mary Corliss and me, 'Colbert' has been destination viewing. Even in the early years, we never took the show's excellence for granted, agreeing that someday we'd look back on the double whammy of 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' as the golden age of TV's singeing singing satire.
Quote examples
Jai Courtney
Australian Actor
I kind of missed out on those years when a lot of my friends did big backpacking trips around Europe and that sort of thing. So to be able to travel and see parts of the world on the job is kind of a double whammy.
Quote examples
Laurie Colwin
American Author
One of the delights of life is eating with friends; second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.
Quote examples
Maxine Peake
English Actress
In my 20s, I was going round seeing agents who were patronising because I was fat and a girl, which was a double whammy. I knew what it was to feel out-of-the-loop.
Quote examples
Victoria Wood
British Comedian
In my 20s I was going round seeing agents who were patronising because I was fat and a girl, which was a double whammy. I knew what it was to feel out-of-the-loop.
Quote examples
Tony Cardenas
American Politician
I love chocolate, and I love ice cream. That's a double whammy there. I constantly have to check myself and say, 'I've already had dessert today.
Quote examples
Bar Paly
Israeli Model
I really, really enjoy comedy. I think that's one of my strong suits. It's my zone. And people don't expect it from me, which is a whammy.
Quote examples
Sheila Hancock
Christmas Eve is my wedding anniversary so it is a double whammy.
Example 1 of 10
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