bells and whistles

   [common]  Features  added  to  a  program  or  system to make it more
   {flavorful} from a hacker's point of view, without necessarily adding
   to its utility for its primary function. Distinguished from {chrome},
   which  is  intended  to  attract users. "Now that we've got the basic
   program  working,  let's go back and add some bells and whistles." No
   one  seems  to  know  what  distinguishes  a bell from a whistle. The
   recognized emphatic form is "bells, whistles, and gongs".

   It  used  to  be  thought that this term derived from the toyboxes on
   theater   organs.  However,  the  "and  gongs"  strongly  suggests  a
   different  origin, at sea. Before powered horns, ships routinely used
   bells, whistles, and gongs to signal each other over longer distances
   than voice can carry.

   

   Sometimes `trouble' is spelled {bells and whistles}...

   (The  next cartoon in the Crunchly saga is 73-06-04. The previous one
   is 73-05-28.)

[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {bells and whistles}{bells whistles and gongs}{chrome}{spangle}]