double whammy

See also: double-whammy

English

WOTD – 1 August 2022

Etymology

From double +‎ whammy (“evil spell; curse or hex”), popularized by the American cartoonist Al Capp (1909–1979), in his classic comic strip Li’l Abner (1934–1977).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌdʌbl̩ ˈ(h)wæmi/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌdʌb(ə)l ˈ(h)wæmi/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æmi
• Hyphenation: doub‧le wham‧my

Noun

double whammy (plural double whammies) (informal)

1. A series of two events that causes adverse effects; a twofold blow or setback.
   • 2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 July 2022:

     Australia had looked the brighter side initially, probing for gaps in England’s defensive spacing and taking an early lead via Christian Lealiifano's first successful penalty. Their opponents took a while to make any kind of consistent front-foot impression before [Jonny] May's double whammy inside four minutes banished their jangling nerves.

2. (by extension) A series of two events that causes positive effects; a twofold boon.

Alternative forms

• double-whammy

Related terms

• triple whammy

Translations

series of two events that causes adverse effects

• Russian: двойной удар (dvojnoj udar)
• Spanish: dupleta f (Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela)

series of two events that causes positive effects

• Spanish: carambola (es) f

See also

• double-trouble

Further reading

• Double Whammy (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia