Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Not with a Bang but a Whimper

Attribution: Mr. Bang Bang by Becs, CagleCartoons.com

[Alejandro Becares (aka “Becs”) is from Argentina, he publishes in magazines and newspapers as well as foreign digital graphic media. He’s won international awards.]

“Not with a bang but a whimper” is an idiom that means to end on a muted note, most likely in a situation where one would have expected a more spectacular finish. The phrase is taken from the last stanza of T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men”. It is typically used to describe the end of something. If something happens not with a bang but a whimper, it is less effective or exciting than people expected or intended.