bzzt.

n.  the electrical crackle of a security spotlight turning on.

<BZZT!  A bright white spotlight snapped on.  The light beamed down from the major’s roof.  BZZT!  Another light came on.  And another.  And then another.  A siren blared.  The whole garden was suddenly filled with sound and light.  —Teddy Marguiles, Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes.>

n.  the noise that a machine makes.

<The machine goes... bzzt.  —Kathryn Ash, Scoop Journal.>

n.  the repeated harsh rattle of the Bank Swallow, as described in Birds of the Mid-Atlantic Region and Where to Find Them  by John H. Rappole.


n.  the sound of an X-ray machine, as in C is for Corpse  by Sue Grafton.


n.  the sound of live wires in a damaged cybernetic arm, as in the graphic novella Hearts and Minds by Scott McCloud.

bzzt bzzt.

n.  the buzzing of a faulty neon bulb.

<The constant flicker and bzzt bzzt of the broken neon light irritated me.  —Lynette Brasfield, Nature Lessons: A Novel.>

n.  the buzzing of an office speakerphone or intercom, as in Everywhere and Beyond: Sequel to From Here to Everywhere  by Robert Lee Joseph; see also bzzt bzzzzt bzzzzzt, bzzzt.

<Bzzt!  Bzzt!  “Yes, Miss Johnson, what is it?”  —Steve R. Bierly, How to Thrive as  Small-Church Pastor.>

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