Definition
Extra features added for show rather than function; fancy additions or features.
In Context
- "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!"
- "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."
Also Said As
- gadgetry
- trivialities
- frills and furbelows
Opposite In Meaning
- plain
- no-frills
- normal
- ordinary
- simple
- unadorned
See Also
- all singing, all dancing
- form over function
- nice-to-have
- everything