The origin of whammy is not entirely certain, but it is assumed to have been created by combining wham (a solid blow) with the whimsical -y ending. The first example of whammy in print occured in 1940, but the word was popularized in the 1950s by the cartoonist Al Capp in the comic strip Li'l Abner. The character Evil-Eye Fleegle could paralyze someone with the sheer power of his gaze. The single whammy was a look with one eye, and the fearsome double whammy used both eyes. As you may know, double whammy has also found a place in English as a general term. It means "a combination of two adverse forces, circumstances, or effects" - in other words, a one-two punch.
if you tell anyone about this, I swear I'll put the whammy on you
put the whammy on herself by publicly predicting that she would win the tennis tournament
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High-density metros also tend to see higher home prices, meaning that buyers in these areas face a double-whammy of high home prices and often, high HOA fees.—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025 Jam Sta Rosa—AFP/Getty Images Advertisement The flood-control corruption scandal is a double-whammy for the Philippines.—Chad De Guzman, Time, 21 Sep. 2025 Richter called it a triple whammy.—Preston Fore, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2025 The double-whammy of environmental regulations and environmental litigation has been destroying housing opportunities for a half-century.—James Burling, Oc Register, 14 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for whammy
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