Why Do We Say Something Has All the “Bells and Whistles”?
The fascinating origin and evolution of a common idiom
One of the most common descriptions that a reader encounters when comparing features between products is bells and whistles. In general, products without the bells and whistles cost less than those that include them. Although the term bells and whistles can cover a wide range of specific features, the general meaning of the idiom is well understood by the modern consumer: features, often fancy or frilly, that are added to make a product more attractive to buyers; however, these features are not essential to the product’s basic function. Interestingly, this idiom is often used to describe high tech products (e.g., “large high-definition LED TV with all the bells and whistles” and “latest lap-top with all the bells and whistles”). It sounds a bit anachronistic, don’t you think? Why would someone want bells and whistles (low tech) on a high-tech product? Naturally, this question invites the more obvious question: why do we say “bells and whistles”?
Like many idioms, bells and whistles provides a snapshot of history, in this case, European history. Let’s step into a time machine and set the destination to the late 1700s to arrive in London, England, where we’ll meet two men who share the title “Father of the Modern Circus”: Philip Astley (1742–1814) and Charles Dibdin (1745–1814). Dibdin actually coined the word “circus,” from the Latin circus, via the Greek kirkos, meaning “a circle or a ring.” The Romans used the term to refer to enclosures without roofs that were used for races and performances. Both Astley and Dibdin built very popular shows around elaborate equestrian demonstrations and performances, eventually adding other forms of entertainment. His inexpensive performances drew huge crowds, and by the mid 1800s, there were hundreds of circuses in England. The development of the railroad allowed large circuses to travel further and reach the remotest towns, and the traveling circus (or the “traveling carnival”) was introduced in the late 1830s. By the end of the century, British and American circuses, carnivals, and fairs were touring across Europe and the United States. Circus and fair owners began expanding their entertainment and added games of skill and chance (like ring toss, dart games, and shooting galleries), rides, food concessions, dance shows, theatrical performances, and exotic attractions (e.g., human oddities, taming ferocious beasts, etc.).
And what is a carnival or fair without music? Since carnivals are loud and busy places, carnival owners wanted a dependable source of merry music that didn’t require a lot of workers (i.e., musicians) and was easy to transport from city to city. Enter the Gavioli family of Cavezzo, Italy. Giacomo, and his son Ludovico, and his three sons (Anselme, Henry, and Claude) formed Gavioli & Cie in Paris, France in 1858 to design and manufacture the most beautiful and sophisticated fairground organs in Europe.
The Gaviolis designed a complete band inside a massive wooden enclosure (ranging in size from a modern day van to a tour bus) including every type of band instrument — violin, cello, pipe, organ, Glockenspiel, xylophone, drum, cymbal, trumpet, bell, whistle, etc—to mimic the music played by a band or small orchestra. (Thus, in America, these were known as band organs.) What is truly amazing is that every instrument is played by a brief blast of forced air and the interplay of very intricate mechanics.
Not only did Gavioli organs sound beautiful, they were beautiful to behold. Many of the organ facades featured colorful, intricately sculpted figures, like a music conductor, whose arm movement was timed to music, or a musician whose arm would strike a bell or drum at the appropriate time.
The music that a fairground organ played was contained in a thick cardboard book, stored in a zig-zag format, that would be fed through a metal cylinder that would detect holes in the cardboard pages. The metal bars in the cylinder would then detect a hole that allowed the corresponding valves to send compressed air through many feet of flexible hose to play the different instruments. Although the Gaviolis did not develop punch cards, they built on the concept developed by Basile Bouchon (1725) and Joseph Jacquard (1804). These punched musical books, however, could be considered a crude precursor of the punch cards that early tabulating machines would use in the 1930s and electronic computers would use in the 1950s (also known as IBM or Hollerith cards).
In short, a Gavioli fairground organ was a stunning masterpiece of innovation, craftsmanship, and mechanical and musical engineering contained in a beautiful ornate wooden assembly. Occasionally, these organs come up for auction. Recently, a completely restored 110-key organ sold for almost half a million dollars at Sothebys. Watch a fascinating video about the mechanics of a Gavioli fairground organ and how it plays a song here.
When we examine the English corpus, we learn that the idiom “bells and whistles” began with one definition (literal) around the mid-1800s, and then about a century later, in the early 1950s, evolved to a slightly different meaning (figurative). The earlier, literal definition of bells and whistles is: the features of a product that are required and necessary for a product’s basic function. The later, figurative definition is: attractive or frilly features that are not essential to a product’s basic function. Although dictionaries vary slightly in the definitions they present, there is a consensus that the original idiom is an allusion to the fairground organ that could be ordered with elaborate ornamentation and full range of instruments — in short, all the bells and whistles.
Let’s review some of the definitions of “bells and whistles” in authoritative reference works. We begin by looking at Allen’s English Phrases (2006): “details; extra features that are attractive but not particularly useful. The phrase is applied typically to machines and gadgets (and originally, in a more literal sense, to fairground organs), and is also used figuratively. (Late 20th century).” The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms (2nd Edition, 2004) states: “attractive additional features or trimmings. The bells and whistles originally referred to were those found on old fairground organs. Nowadays, the phrase is often used in computing jargon to mean ‘attractive but superfluous facilities.’” Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (20th edition, 2018) explains: “Additional attractive features, gimmicks or ‘gizmos.’ The allusion is to a fairground organ with its multiplicity of bells and whistles.”
The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the earliest modern idiomatic use was in Byte Magazine in 1977, while Merriam Webster cites 1968. However, a search in Google Books found several earlier relevant references:
“But it isn’t long before your programmers come to you and say they need a bigger, faster, more powerful machine. If they are persuasive, you then try to convince your boss of the supposed need for this new device with all its bells and whistles.” (Perspectives in Defense Management, 1967, page 32)
Computers are not simple, self-contained mechanisms. Many have a variety of attachments and peripheral gear nicknamed the ‘bells and whistles.’ Each of these is designed to give the computer particular characteristics and advantages.” (Proceedings: Annual Conference on Automation and Personnel Administration, 1962, page 24)
“…One of our out-of-town clients had an IBM 650 on order with all the bells and whistles. They had to wait a year for delivery, and they wanted to get into immediate action.” (Proceedings of the Automation Conference, 1956, page 36)
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