
As the "whizzbang" phenomenon continued to spread, I began to wonder whether this might in fact be an actual word. After a quick trip to Dictionary.com, lo and behold, "Whizzbang" is a legitimate semantic unit. The phrase originated in World War I. A "Whiz bang" was a bullet that traveled faster than the speed of sound.

As with most interesting technical terms, "Whizzbang" began to be applied colloquially. Now, whizzbang could be used as an adjective meaning "top notch" or "first rate." It gradually took on an informal noun form and turned into "whiz", meaning "one who has remarkable skill" (via).
So, there you have it. I know you will sleep better tonight for having put this linguistic mystery to rest. Now, to aid in the flourishing of this particular word in your daily life, I've decided to provide a few enlightening examples of first rate usage of the term.
As a a substantive (noun functioning as a subject): When my friend Brett becomes a world renowned NT scholar, I will refer to him as "the exegetical whizzbang that I went to class with in yesteryears."
As an Adjectival Modifier: When my friend Zach preaches on the fear of God and the love of Christ, the result is a whizzbang of a sermon.
As a Predicate Nominative: When it comes to "bringing the cows home for Christ," my friend Billy is a first rate whizzbang.
As a Neologism: And, you can even bend this word to your will by making it into a brand new semantic creation. For Instance,
When my friend Michael allegedly offers purgatory points to unsuspecting readers in order to engender theological discussion, the result is "sheer whizzbangery."
As you can see, a life lived with "whizzbang" in one's working vocabulary is
Feel free to add any instances of usage I might have missed.
related posts
Language
June 4, 2007
6