English

Alternative forms

• willy-willy

Noun

willy willy ‎(plural willy willies)

1. (Australia) A dust devil; a tornado; a tropical cyclone.
   • 2000, Blake Education staff, Terrific Topics: Middle Primary: Book 1, Blake Education, Australia, page 92,

     Hurricanes, cyclones, willy-willies and typhoons are all storms with incredibly strong and powerful winds.

   • 2000, John Marsden, Burning for Revenge, page 29,

     There were sheets of roofing iron torn off by the willy-willy of 1994, tanks with holes in them, a few other cars and tractors, and bits of machinery.

   • 2009, Keith Scott, Colin Pain, Regolith Science, page 384,

     None of the coarser deposits have been observed to move on at any of the lander sites; however, dust accumulates and is removed both seasonally and by local wind gusts and willy willies (dust devils; Greeley et al. 2006).

Synonyms

• (wind storm): tornado, twister, waterspout