See Also: whistle(2)(dictionary)
whistle(medicine)
tin whistle(dictionary)
whistle(1)(dictionary)
whistle-stop(dictionary)
whistle-blower(dictionary)
whistle 2, noun(dictionary)
whistle 1, verb(dictionary)
penny whistle(dictionary)
whistle-stop(dictionary)

whistle(1) (iou)



whistle noun. OE.
[Rel. to WHISTLE verb.]
A short tubular instrument producing a shrill tone by means of breath, air, or steam forced through a narrow slit, used esp. for signalling. Also, a simple musical instrument resembling a recorder; formerly, a pipe, a flute. OE.
Swanee whistle, tin whistle, etc.
J. Cheever The train blows its whistle. J. Kosinski Police whistles shrilled in the silence. Smithsonian A toy company that makes wooden tops, whistles, and kazoos.
b. fig. A person speaking on behalf of another; a person giving a secret signal. LME-M17.
c. A suit. Also more fully whistle and flute. rhyming slang. M20.
The mouth or throat as used in speaking or singing. Chiefly in wet one's whistle, whet one's whistle below. colloq. LME.
An act of whistling; a clear shrill sound produced by forcing the breath through the narrow opening made by contracting the lips, (and sometimes further narrowed by inserting two fingers), used esp. as a call or signal or to express surprise, approval, or derision; such a sound made by blowing through a whistle; rare an act of whistling a tune. LME.
Sir W. Scott Klepper knows my whistle, and follows me. Conan Doyle The shrill whistle of the fifes. Glasgow Herald Succumbing to their..opponents only on the final whistle.
transf. A similar sound made by a bird, the wind, a moving missile, etc. M17.
Phrases: (as) clean as a whistle, (as) clear as a whistle, (as) dry as a whistle very clean or clear or dry. bells and whistles: see BELL noun1. blow the whistle on: see BLOW verb1. hunt the whistle: see HUNT verb. kist o' whistles: see KIST noun1 1. pay for one's whistle, pay too dear for one's whistle pay much more for something than it is worth. penny whistle: see PENNY adjective. silent dog whistle, silent whistle: see SILENT adjective. wet one's whistle, whet one's whistle (chiefly joc. & colloq.) have a drink, esp. an alcoholic one. whistle and flute: see sense 1c above.
Comb.: whistle-blower a person who blows the whistle on a person or activity (see BLOW verb1); whistle-language = whistle-speech below; whistle punk N. Amer. a logger who signals by means of a whistle to those operating a donkey-engine; whistle-speech a system of communication by whistling, based on spoken language and used to communicate over long distances; whistle-wood Scot. & north. peeled wood used by children to make whistles; any of the trees providing such wood, esp. alder and sycamore.