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whizz-bangs

Military
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A slang term for shells or explosive rounds that make a whizzing sound. It is especially associated with World War I.

Detailed Definition
Whizz-bangs were fast artillery shells, named for the sound they made as they flew and exploded. Owen uses the word to give the poem its trench-warfare realism and to emphasize the constant bombardment around the soldiers.
Example
Example in poetry:
“With fumes of whizz-bangs, and the smell of men” uses a First World War slang term for shells that whistle and explode; “Whizz-bangs cracked above the trench” evokes artillery’s speed and noise; “The poem’s whizz-bangs interrupt its muddy stillness” highlights war-poetry sound imagery; “After the whizz-bang, only chalk dust fell” shows the sudden aftermath of bombardment
Additional Notes
This is specialized World War I slang, so an ordinary reader may not know it.; Found in the poem, The Sentry by Wilfred Owen
Also Known As
firecrackers explosives pyrotechnics loud bangs
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