double whammy

noun

|Updated on: 29 May 2018

Examples: double whammy in a Sentence

Definition of double whammy

: a combination of two usually adverse forces, circumstances, or effects

See double whammy defined for English-language learners

Examples of double whammy in a Sentence

With the cold weather and the high cost of heating fuel, homeowners were hit with a double whammy this winter.

Recent Examples of double whammy from the Web

The bad news is that for now, Japan and its peers are being hit with a double whammy of rising oil prices and slowing global-demand growth, especially from Europe.

— nathaniel taplin, WSJ, "Big Trouble in Little Japan," 25 May 2018
Satellite suppliers have been hit with a double whammy.

— samantha masunaga, latimes.com, "Southern California suppliers learn to adjust to slowdown in satellite orders," 23 May 2018
Yim Hwang-bin, a strategic planning team manager at Nexteel, said the quota is a double whammy for the company, which has cut its payroll at home by nearly half this year.

— kwanwoo jun and william mauldin, WSJ, "Quotas Make a Comeback as Countries Seek U.S. Tariff Exemptions," 11 May 2018
This hits classical computers with a double whammy.

— chris lee, Ars Technica, "Random quantum circuit easiest way to beat classical computer," 1 May 2018
This idiotic law would be a double whammy to stock prices — raising supplies of shares while cutting demand.

— ken fisher, USA TODAY, "Despite what politicians say, stock buybacks aren't evil," 22 Apr. 2018
But putting the onus on the corporation is a double whammy for shareholders.

— james b. stewart, New York Times, "Punishing Wells Fargo: Just Deserts, or Beating a Dead Horse?," 19 Apr. 2018
Get our daily newsletter Michael Poyker of UCLA Anderson has collected data from American prisons and the labour markets in their surrounding counties between 1850 and 1950. Crunching the data, convict labour hit free workers with a double whammy.

— The Economist, "How convict labour increased inequality," 12 Apr. 2018
Another low-maintenance option for those new to caring for houseplants is indoor edible gardening, which gives you the double whammy of beautiful greenery and sustenance.

— amy dewall dadmun, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Green house effect: Plants enhance life in tiny homes, apartments," 26 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'double whammy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of double whammy

1951

in the meaning defined above

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DOUBLE WHAMMY Defined for English Language Learners

double whammy

noun

Definition of double whammy for English Language Learners

: a situation that is bad in two different ways : a situation in which two bad conditions exist at the same time or two bad things happen one after the other