the bomb

Definition

The atomic bomb; the capability to launch a nuclear attack.

Etymology

Attested in reference to nuclear weapons or the capacity to use them since 1932; see quotations, below. As slang for something excellent, the phrase is attested since the 1960s; compare go down a bomb, UK theatre slang during the 1950s meaning “be a major success”. For further etymology see bomb.

Example Sentences

• "Pakistan and India both have the Bomb now."
• "The Cabinet, when faced with this proffered omnipotence, had recoiled in fear. True it was that their acute distaste for the bomb[…] did credit to their humanity, to their state of civilization."
• "In my view, the tensions which have produced the “World with the Bomb” can be divided into roughly four classes."