bells and whistles

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

bells and whistles pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Extra features added for show rather than function; fancy additions or features.

   Synonyms: gadgetry, trivialities, frills and furbelows

   Antonyms: plain, no-frills, normal, ordinary, simple, unadorned

   His new car has all the bells and whistles, but it doesn't move through traffic jams any faster.

   The bells and whistles do not impress me.

   I need a new phone, but I don’t want all those fancy bells and whistles on it!

   • 2023 May 6, James Poniewozik, “Charles III Was Crowned King. But Can He Ever Be the Star?”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Charles’s coronation was a full-color spectacle, showing off the peacocked glory of British tradition and the bells and whistles of 21st-century TV. Britain brought out its finest garments, its finest relics, its finest rain.

Translations

extra features added for show rather than function

• Bulgarian: финтифлюшки (bg) pl (fintifljuški)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 花哨的附加功能 (huāshao de fùjiā gōngnéng)

• Dutch: toeters en bellen pl
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: hienoudet pl
• French: fioritures (fr) f pl, futilités (fr) f pl, frivolités (fr) f pl, tralala (fr) m, fanfreluche (fr) f
• German: Schnickschnack (de) m, Klimbim (de) m, Zierrat (de) m (exalted)
• Hebrew: רַעַשׁ וְצִלְצוּלִים (he) (rá'ash vtziltzulím)
• Italian: facezia riempitiva
• Polish: wodotryski pl
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: прибамбасы (ru) (pribambasy), навороты (navoroty), свистелки и перделки (svistelki i perdelki) (vulgar)
• Spanish: ringorrangos (es), ful extras (Latin America), ful equipo (Ecuador)

See also

• all singing, all dancing
• form over function
• nice-to-have
• Thesaurus:everything