wambulance

English

Alternative forms

• waaambulance
• waambulance
• wahmbulance
• whambulance

Etymology

Blend of wah +‎ ambulance. The earliest known usage was in the 2000 Disney film The Kid, and it may have been first used in this film.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwæm.bjə.ləns/
• Hyphenation: wam‧bu‧lance

Noun

wambulance (plural wambulances)

1. (slang) A notional ambulance called to the scene when somebody is upset; used in dismissive responses to oversensitive complaining.
   • 2000, Disney's The Kid:

     Russ Duritz (Bruce Willis): Waaaaaah. Waaaaaaah. Somebody call the wambulance.

   • 2001, jim, “Outrageous!!!”, in rec.aviation.piloting (Usenet):

     Someone call the Wambulance. Dudley I am so sick of hearing you bitch about how everybody is not suffering enough.

   • 2007, Rodney Parker, “What a game!”, in alt.sports.football.pro.dallas-cowboys (Usenet):

     Funny how we didn't see a single post in this NG from "Ron" or Holder during the game. Not surprising, but funny anyway. I'm sure they'll surface sometime. As a precaution, I've already called the wambulance for them.

See also

• world's smallest violin
• amberlamps