whangdoodle

See also: whang-doodle

English

WOTD – 19 October 2010

Alternative forms

• whang-doodle

Etymology

Of American origin circa 1856. Popularized by appearing in a sermon parody attributed to William P. Brannan as "Where the lion roareth and the whangdoodle mourneth for her first-born," published in The Harp of a Thousand Strings: Or, Laughter for a Lifetime (1858).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwæŋ.duː.dl̩/
• (without the wine–whine merger) IPA^(key): /ˈhwæŋ.duː.dl̩/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

whangdoodle (plural whangdoodles)

1. (often humorous) A whimsical monster in folklore and children's fiction; a bugbear.
   • 1901, Charles M. Snyder, Runaway Robinson, page 53:

     "I'm n-n-not a tor-tor-tortoise," stuttered the curious creature, "I'm a wha-wha-whang-whang-doodle."
     "A whangdoodle! What's that?"

   • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter II, in The Understanding Heart:

     Bob gave the man fair warning. Told him if he ever prowled around his home again he'd better come a–fogging; the man took a chance and now he's where the woodbine twineth and the whangdoodle mourneth for its mate.

   • 1960 August 22, “Yarns and Whoppers and Practical Jokes”, in Life, 49 (8): 56:

     In the Big Rock Candy Mountains lies a happy hobo land where the boxcars are all empty, where there are cigaret trees and rock-and-rye springs and the whangdoodle sings.

2. (obsolete) Term of disparagement
   • 1862, Mark Twain, Mark Twain's letters: 1853-1866, Volume 1 (published 1987), page 171

     For a man who can listen for an hour to Mr. White, the whining, nasal, Whangdoodle preacher, and then sit down and write, without shedding melancholy from his pen as water slides from a duck's back, is more than mortal.

   • 1867, John Ballou Newbrough, The fall of Fort Sumter, or, Love and war in 1860-61, page 131:

     […] and I want you to conflumux everything got up by Mrs. Davis or Miss Lane, or any other of these political whangdoodles.

   • 1928 (Mar.), Martin Bunn, "When You Buy a Car", Popular Science 112 (3): 138

     "Now, Ben, you're a lawyer. You don't give a whang-doodle about anything mechanical."

3. (poker) A ruling in which the opening stake limits are doubled for the next play after the appearance of a very good hand.
   • 1940, Clement Wood, Gloria Goddard, The Complete Book of Games, page 296:

     It is sometimes agreed in advance that after a hand of certain rank, such as Four of a Kind or a Full House, is shown, a Whangdoodle or Jackpot must be played […]

Synonyms

• (whimsical monster): bogeyman, bugbear, gremlin

Hypernyms

• (whimsical monster): monster

Coordinate terms

• (poker): jackpot

Translations

whimsical monster in folklore and children's fiction

• Finnish: menninkäinen (fi)
• French: père Fouettard (fr), croquemitaine (fr), loup-garou (fr), tonton macoute (fr), Bonhomme sept-heures
• Italian: babau (it)
• Spanish: coco (es), bu (es), Tío Saín, ropavejero (es), hombre del saco (es), hombre del costal, sacamantecas

term of disparagement

• Finnish: menninkäinen (fi)
• French: cauchemar (fr), bête noire (fr)
• Italian: incubo (it)
• Spanish: pesadilla (es)

poker:ruling in which the opening stake limits are doubled