wingding

See also: Wingding

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Etymology 1

Reduplication of wing (“arm”).

Alternative forms

• whingding, whing ding, wing ding, wing-ding

Noun

wingding (plural wingdings)

1. (slang) A fit or spasm.
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 243:

     ‘She threw a wingding. Looked like a mild epileptic fit to me.’

2. (slang) A party.
   • 1982, Donald Fagen (lyrics and music), “New Frontier”, in The Nightfly:

     Yes we're gonna have a wingding / A summer smoker underground

Translations

fit or spasm — see fit,‎ spasm,‎ seizure

party — see party

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “wing-ding n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Etymology 2

After the Wingdings font developed by Microsoft in 1990. Its name was presumably derived from dingbat and earlier senses of wingding.

Noun

wingding (plural wingdings)

1. (computing, typography) A dingbat (ornamental typographical symbol), especially one from the Wingdings font.
   • 2004, Mary Millhollon, Katherine Murray, Microsoft Office Word 2003 Inside Out, page 202:

     Instead of going through the menu selections needed to insert a special symbol like a Wingding, you can rely on AutoCorrect to substitute the symbol for the text you type […]

   • 2011, Suzanne Gilad, Copyediting and Proofreading For Dummies, page 179:

     Don't know a wingding from a ring-a-ding-ding? Check out one of the For Dummies books on Microsoft Office.