bells and whistles
plural nounDefinition of bells and whistles
: items or features that are useful or decorative but not essential : frills
Examples of bells and whistles in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The iconic 1965 James Bond Aston Martin DB5, complete with all the bells and whistles an MI6 agent would need, just like in the movie, sold for $6,385,000. — Fortune, "The Future of Auctions Might Rely on Luxury Items," 31 Aug. 2019 From top to bottom, the Note 10+ exudes high-end, unsurprising considering all its bells and whistles. — Patrick Lucas Austin, Time, "The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ Is the Perfect Phone for Writers, Note-Takers and Scribblers," 30 Aug. 2019 Chinese printers are especially good at producing affordable children’s books with all kinds of bells and whistles, like pop-ups and textures. — Lydia Depillis, ProPublica, "Bibles but Not Textbooks: Trump’s Tariff Exemptions Pick Winners and Losers," 22 Aug. 2019 Watson has seen firsthand what those players have done stateside, helping to build a foundation for the Milwaukee Bucks that led into the construction of Fiserv Forum – and the numerous new bells and whistles at his disposal. — Jr Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "He already mastered the Olympics, and now Fiserv Forum's director of in-game entertainment heads to China alongside Bucks players for FIBA," 20 Aug. 2019 The league has craftier post operators, but Ayton doesn't need bells and whistles to emphasize his touch. — Jeremy Cluff, azcentral, "Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton make list of best young players in NBA for 2019," 7 Aug. 2019 Without the usual bells and whistles, one better appreciates how good Mr. Whitehead has gotten at the fundamental elements of fiction. — Sam Sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: Colson Whitehead Is One of the Finest Novelists in America," 12 July 2019 But customers who want all the bells and whistles, including the ability to automatically send all robocalls directly to voicemail, will need to pay $4 a month. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, "AT&T "free" robocall blocking service comes with a $4 monthly catch," 11 July 2019 The Nintendo Switch Lite is meant to be used as a cheaper, highly portable version of the more expensive original Switch, with all the bells and whistles integrated for TV play stripped out. — Brittany Vincent, Popular Mechanics, "With the New Switch Lite, Nintendo (Unofficially) Kills the 3DS," 10 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bells and whistles.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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