Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hit.

1684		A York-Shire Dialogue 113: To Whang one, is to beat one.
1772		Bridges Burlesque Homer (3rd edn) 252: I sometimes think myself to hang him; / Try first, says hecuba, and whang him.
1787		Burns The Ordination in Works (1842) 21/1: Nae mair the knaves shall wrang her, For Heresy is in her pow’r, And gloriously she’ll whang her Wi’ pith this day.
1862		‘Artemus Ward’ Artemus Ward, His Book 70: My hart whanged agin my ribs like a old fashioned wheat Flale agin a barn floor.
1883		N.Y. Sporting Life 15 Apr. 1: Lewis whanged it nicely to centre field.
1891		Bird o’ Freedom (Sydney) 21 Feb. 2/3: Now he whangs the lyre / In a heavenly choir.
1898		Sun (NY) 15 May 17/6: When Cyrus stopped [...] to whang him, the bear gave a lunge.
1900		T.J. Hains Mr Trunnell Mate of the Ship ‘Pirate’ Ch. ix: Th’ way that old gal whanged an’ lammed, an’ lammed an’ whanged.
1903		J. Furphy Such is Life 215: A’d whang the de’il oot o’ ye baith wi’a stokewhup.
1912		Ade Knocking the Neighbors 88: When Nightfall came they would still be edging around the Ring, whanging away, for each was too Game to be a Quitter.
1924		O.O. McIntyre New York Day by Day 31 May [synd. col.] The Duke of Essex Street whanged a table with his fists.
1933		Hecht & Fowler Great Magoo 38: He whangs on the gong. A Gypsy Dancer emerges.
1948		C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident 36: He whanged at me with his satchel.
1957		‘Weldon Hill’ Onionhead (1958) 231: ‘I got to find that Moses and hang the tar outa him’.
1959		G. Slatter Gun in My Hand 99: Maori officer whanging them on the head with his life-jacket to make them attend to his lecture.
1963		G. Lambert Inside Daisy Clover (1966) 79: Traffic at a standstill and drivers whanging their horns.
1972		E. Shrake Strange Peaches 166: [I] was whanging on his shield with my butcher knife.
1981		J. Wambaugh Glitter Dome (1982) 91: The Weasel reacted by playing bumper cars with the TR-7, whanging the rear of the roadster.
1998		A. Warner Sopranos 138: The phone wanged the kiosk glass.

2. to throw, drive, pull, shoot etc. with force or with violent impact.

a.1803		Beattie Tales 8: My uncle set it to his breast, And whang’d it down [F&H].
1898		Sun (NY) 15 May 17/5: ‘Did you whang at a bear?’ [...] ‘I should say so! And an old snorter he was, I tell you!’.
1914		Ade ‘The New Fable of the Scoffer who Fell Hard’ in Ade’s Fables 253: He whanged away with a Niblick down in a bottomless Pit, caromed on a couple of Oaks, and finally angled off toward the Cup.
1932		(con. 1919) Dos Passos Nineteen Nineteen in USA (1966) 498: The car went whanging along.
1942		in G. Legman Limerick (1953) 249: A geologist named Dr. Robb / Was perturbed by his thingumabob, / So he took up his pick / And whanged off his wick, / And calmly went on with his job.
1953		K. Amis letter 22 Sept. in Leader (2000) 339: Whang in the gold, old son, whang in the gold.
1959		‘Paul Merchant’ ‘Sex Gang’ in Pulling a Train’ (2012) [ebook] The door whanged open and slammed against the wall.
1962		H. Livings Nil Carborundum (1963) Act III: Like to see this fat sizzle? [The commando makes a move and then dodges with a yell as Neville coolly whangs a ladle full of hot fat at him].
1999		K. Sampson Powder 487: Maybe I could whang the Heads through to you now.