whammy
pronunciation
How to pronounce whammy in British English:
UK [ˈwæmi]
How to pronounce whammy in American English:
US [ˈhwæmi, ˈwæmi]
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- Noun:
- a serious or devastating setback
- an evil spell
Word Origin
- whammy (n.)
- often double whammy, "hex, evil eye," 1932, of unknown origin, popularized 1941 in Al Capp's comic strip "Li'l Abner," where it was the specialty of Evil-Eye Fleegle.
Example
- 1. That leaves many emerging markets facing a double whammy in 2009 .
- 2. The hope is that the double whammy will be more damaging to tumors .
- 3. This kind of double whammy can be induced experimentally in other organs , too .
- 4. The combination of fewer people working and not working efficiently is a double whammy .
- 5. The double whammy of graft in the poorest countries is that state funds are first diverted into private hands and then sent overseas .