Whangdoodle
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A whimsical monster in folklore and children's fiction; a bugbear. humorous, often
""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?""
- 2 Term of disparagement obsolete
"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."
- 3 A ruling in which the opening stake limits are doubled for the next play after the appearance of a very good hand.
"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[…]"
Example
More examples""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?""
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).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.