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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.
Examples of whammy in a Sentence
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
Cite this Entry
“Whammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whammy. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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