Banjaxed!

It may be a sad commentary on the human condition that our words for aiding and for creation are not as plentiful as our words for beating and for destroying. Furthermore, the words for creation tend to be specific to the task (assemble, sculpt, carve, concoct, cook) while those for destruction tend to be interchangeable (ruin, crush, crunch, pulverize). 

All that said, we do have some pretty great works for wrecking things. Wallop, pound, smash, annihilate, shatter, ravage, and raze are all fun. Also, we do understand that there are implied differences in the severity and methodology of these verbs. 

One of the coolest words is banjax, which has that great ax at the end. It's thought to be of Irish origin, and Merriam-Webster dates it to 1939, but no one knows for sure where it came from. That stressed B-syllable at the beginning is reminiscent of beat or batter, and X is always good for destructive purposes, as a sound or as a mark to indicate things that must go. You get the idea of being hit and broken in two. It also sounds like getting hit with a banjo, and even the sound the banjo might make when you get hit. 

No disrespect to El Kabong, but an acoustic guitar weighs about five pounds, while a banjo can weigh as much as fourteen. Plus, the guitar has more air resistance. I think I'd rather be kabonged with a guitar than banjaxed with a banjo. 

As we head toward football and hockey seasons, where the verbs for destroying each other will be flying in the sports coverage, I would to remind everyone that banjax is a fine word for beating the snot out of an opponent. 

One important side note: Remember, the word is whup, not whoop. Whup, generally combined these days with ass and often available in a can, is a variation of whip that dates back to 1852. Whoop means to cheer (as a verb) and goes back to the 14th century. One does not whoop one's opponent -- unless one is cheering for him, I guess. You'd be surprised how often I see this mistake from professional writers -- and, it must be said, female ones, because they've never watched pro wrestling. 

Above all, do not whoop ass, because that sounds like some strange butt-related fetish, and I don't think we need to know any more about one another's sex lives these days.