whale

have a whale of a time

Fig. to have an exciting or fun time; to have a big time. (Whale is a way of saying big.) We had a whale of a time at Sally's birthday party. Enjoy your vacation! I hope you have a whale of a time.

See also: have, time

whale into (someone or an animal)

Fig. to attack or punish someone or an animal. Jimmy's dad really whaled into him. The sailor whaled into the dog.

whale the tar out of someone

Inf. to spank or beat someone. (See also beat the living daylights out of someone.) My father threatened to whale the tar out of me. I'll whale the tar out of you when we get home if you don't settle down.

See also: out, tar

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a whale of a [bill/difference/problem etc.]  (American & Australian)

a very large bill, difference, problem etc. Another thousand dollars would make a whale of a difference. We ran up a whale of a bill in the restaurant.

a whale of a [job/party/story etc.]  (American & Australian)

a very good job, party, story etc. They've done a whale of a job renovating the building.

have a whale of a time

to enjoy yourself very much 'Did Sam enjoy himself at the party?' 'He had a whale of a time.'

See also: have, time

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a whale of a something (spoken)

1. an unusually good something Perry's done a whale of a job for us. We had a whale of a time, and we were sorry when we had to leave.

2. an unusually large something There's a whale of a difference between being a partner in a law firm and just being another lawyer.