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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
Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
But according to what has now become received wisdom among industry observers, the pandemic-era triple whammy of Pixar originals, Luca, Soul, and Turning Red, skipping theaters effectively rewired audience expectations.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 24 June 2025
So there's not a triple whammy for goods that would have been hit by all three of those.
—Tax Notes Staff, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
Monday, June 30th delivered a triple whammy of news that perfectly captures AI’s current state.
—Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Whammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whammy. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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