wigwam

wigwam
: a wigwam for a goose's bridle A snubbing reply to an unwanted question. It might be used to answer an inquisitive child who asks 'What's in the bag?' The original English idiom was 'a whim-wham for a goose's bridle'. 'Whim-wham' meaning 'an ornament' disappeared from the language in the nineteenth century and survived only in this phrase. In Australia the meaningless 'whim-wham' was altered to the more familiar 'wigwam', and sometimes to 'wing-wong'.

Australian idioms. 2014.

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Synonyms:
(of an American Indian), ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • wigwam — [ wigwam ] n. m. • 1688; mot angl., de l algonquin wikiwam « leur maison » ♦ Hutte ou tente des Indiens d Amérique du Nord; village indien. Des wigwams. ● wigwam nom masculin (algonquin wikiwam, cabane) Village des Indiens de l Amérique du Nord.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • wigwam — WÍGWAM s.n. 1. Cort de piele, colibă a indienilor din America de Nord. 2. Sat populat de indieni. [pr. uíg uam] (din amer. wigwam) Trimis de tavi, 14.05.2004. Sursa: MDN  wígwam s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic … …   Dicționar Român

  • Wigwam — Wig wam, n. [From the Algonquin or Massachusetts Indian word w[=e]k, his house, or dwelling place; with possessive and locative affixes, w[=e] kou om ut, in his (or their) house, contracted by the English to weekwam, and wigwam.] An Indian cabin… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • WigWam — Pays d’origine  Royaume Uni Genre musical Pop Années d activité depuis 2005 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wigwam — Wigwam, die Hütten der nordamerikanischen Indianer, gewöhnlich aus Baumrinde gefertigt u. mit Fellen überspannt …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Wigwam — Wigwam, Hütte der nordamerikanischen Indianer (s. Indianer, S. 791) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Wigwam — Wigwam, Hütte der Indianer …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Wigwam — Wigwam, die Hütte der Indianer …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • wigwam — 1628, from Algonquian (probably Eastern Abenaki) wikewam a dwelling, said to mean lit. their house; also said to be found in such formations as wikiwam and Ojibwa wiigiwaam and Delaware wiquoam …   Etymology dictionary

  • wigwam — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. wigwammie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl 12}}1. {{/stl 12}}{{stl 7}} szałas indiański, którego konstrukcję stanowią żerdzie przykryte skórami, trzciną itp. {{/stl 7}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • wigwam — ► NOUN ▪ a dome shaped or conical dwelling made by fastening mats, skins, or bark over a framework of poles (as used formerly by some North American Indian peoples). ORIGIN Algonquian, «their house» …   English terms dictionary

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