Bells and whistles

Meaning

Attractive additional features or trimmings.

Examples

It was expensive to get all the optional extras for my new car, but I decided that I wasn’t going to get another for a few years so why not go for all the bells and whistles?

Where did it originate?

USA, late 20th century. First used in the computing world to refer to machines with lots of new features. Probably ultimately deriving as an allusion to fairgound organs, which have numerous bells and whistles.

Where is it used?

Worldwide.

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About the Author

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Bells and whistles