Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Sounding like a whistle: as, a whistling sound.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • a. & n. from whistle, v.
  • (Naut.) See under Buoy.
  • (Zoöl.) the American black scoter.
  • (Zoöl.), [Prov. Eng.] The song thrush.
  • (Zoöl.) A tree duck.
  • (Zoöl.) a small Australian eagle (Haliastur sphenurus); -- called also whistling hawk, and little swamp eagle.
  • (Zoöl.) The black-bellied, or gray, plover.
  • (Zoöl.) the American woodcock.
  • (Zoöl.) An American swan (Olor columbianus). See under Swan.
  • (Zoöl.) a tree duck, as Dendrocygna awsuree of India.
  • (Zoöl.), [Prov. Eng.] The song thrush.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of whistle.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the act of whistling a tune
  • noun the act of signalling (e.g., summoning) by whistling or blowing a whistle
  • noun the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture

Etymologies

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Examples

  • However, I can't help but think this is what they call whistling past the graveyard.

    Obama Discusses Wright Controversy In New Web Video 2009

  • "That is what I call whistling," said he, after he had repeated the signal thrice; "and now to cover, to cover, or Whitefoot will not be shod this day."

    Kenilworth Walter Scott 1801

  • This is what we call whistling through the graveyard.

    David Horowitz Freedom Center Benjamin Shapiro 2010

  • Its cheerful whistling is audible in our house throughout the day.

    This weekend nathreee 2010

  • Its cheerful whistling is audible in our house throughout the day.

    This weekend nathreee 2010

  • Besides plain whistling, there were warbles (made by blowing jerkily) and trills (made by rolling an "r" while blowing); by blowing patterns of high and low notes of varying style, most anything that needed to be communicated on shipboard could be said.

    Archive 2008-06-01 Heather McDougal 2008

  • That man in the Day-Glo hard hat wolf-whistling is now an urban regenerator and the tempting cleft peeping from his waistband announces his urban regenerator's bum.

    Archive 2008-03-01 2008

  • Besides plain whistling, there were warbles (made by blowing jerkily) and trills (made by rolling an "r" while blowing); by blowing patterns of high and low notes of varying style, most anything that needed to be communicated on shipboard could be said.

    The Languages of Tone and Rhythm Heather McDougal 2008

  • “Sifr”: I have warned readers that whistling is considered a kind of devilish speech by the Arabs, especially the

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • “Sifr”: whistling is held by the Badawi to be the speech of devils; and the excellent explorer Burckhardt got a bad name by the ugly habit.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

Comments

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  • I still can't whistle!

    December 5, 2009

  • I can, but I can’t snap my fingers.

    December 5, 2009

  • I can do both, but I can't wiggle my ears.

    December 6, 2009

  • Not many people can wiggle their ears. I certainly can't do that either. But I can bend almost all my fingers so the middle joint sticks out and if I push, it can go back nearly 90 degrees. hyperlaxity.

    December 7, 2009

  • Ouch.

    December 7, 2009

  • I can't do anything at all - I can't even belch. I can whistle but it just sounds like the gaspy, sterterous breathing of an emphysemic yokel.

    December 8, 2009

  • hahaha!

    December 8, 2009

  • -ooh! Can someone pretty please record the 'Bridge Over River Kwai' whistling POW tune?

    December 10, 2009

  • I'm a pretty decent whistler, but I'm still waiting for my microphone... *checks porch again*

    December 10, 2009