BELLS AND WHISTLES

noun phrase (Science and Technology) In colloquial use in computing, additional facilities in a system, program, etc. which help to make it commercially attractive but are often not really essential; gimmicks. Etymology: An allusion to the old fairground organs, with their multiplicity of bells and whistles; the bells of a computer are actually a range of electronic bleeps. There are more than 600 microsystems on the market so it is hardly surprising that the manufacturers have taken to hanging a few bells and whistles on to their machines to get them noticed. Sunday Times 26 Aug. 1984, p. 49