whammo

Etymology

wham +‎ -o

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwæməʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwæmoʊ/
• (without the wine–whine merger) IPA^(key): /ˈhwæmoʊ/
• Rhymes: -æməʊ

Interjection

whammo

1. (informal) Used to emphasis the suddenness of an event.

   So, I'm driving along when, whammo, a tree falls in front of the car.

   • 1988, David Quammen, The Flight of the Iguana

     He lifted one foot and set it down again, whammo, but Ed was so engrossed in Pynchon's novel that all he recalls is tromping the scorpion to death with his stung foot, then quickly fetching a bucket of ice water, jamming the foot into it, and continuing to read.

Noun

whammo (plural whammos)

1. (informal) An action-packed scene in a film, etc.